Boundary review needed says mayor

It’s time for a serious review of the administrative boundaries of government agencies that serve Otaki, Kapiti mayor K Gurunathan said.

A review was needed especially given an expressway to Levin wasn’t on the Government’s transport priority radar, meaning the Otaki community would continue to be drawn closer to the south because of Transmission Gully and the Kapiti Expressway.

“Currently these boundary divisions between various government agencies divide the Otaki community from the rest of the Kapiti district.”

He has written to Police Commissioner Mike Bush to review the police administrative boundaries to help align these to council’s territorial authority boundary including administratively relocating the Otaki police station to sit within the Wellington Police District instead of the Central Police District.

And letters have been sent to Police Minister Stuart Nash and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta to not only look at the police boundaries but also at the larger picture.

“It’s a well known fact in spatial planning that transport projects like these massive expressways will have significant socio-economic impacts especially on smaller communities. Better public transport connections for Otaki is a continuing problem.”

Recognition of the problems caused by the current boundaries were not new, he said, citing the Community Response Forum set up in 2012, under the then Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett, which included representatives from Otaki.

“It recognised these boundaries were the single biggest barrier to making social services more accessible to vulnerable members of the community.”