Community vision shared with council

The Waipatu community’s vision and aspirations for both present and future generations have been recognised with the Hastings District Council’s endorsement of the Waipatu Community Plan 2016-2021.

Rather than meet in the council chambers, the council took the opportunity to be presented with the plan by community members at Waipatu Marae.

The Hastings District Council began supporting the development of community plans in 2002 as a way to engage with and provide additional support to communities identified as having high needs.

The Waipatu Community Plan draws on work done between 2016 and 2019 to address the community’s desire to make the area, home to about 550 residents, a safer place to live, and for community members to be included in local developments.

This work included community engagement through hui, social media, email and letterbox drops, and resulted in four main priorities to be addressed — identity and culture, water, traffic and safety and development.

One of the suggestions for water had already got under way — a community survey to assess what people thought the main water issues (storm, waste and drinking water) were and how they wanted them addressed.

Traffic and safety concerns centred on making all roads safer in the area in terms of speed and road design, as well as consideration of extra footpaths and street lighting in key locations.

Last year Nga¯ti Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana submitted to the council that the Waipatu community wished to show leadership and develop this plan.