Reviving Clive
Fixing the town where you need a car but it’s hard to use it
Clive is a lovely riverside town sandwiched in between Hawke’s Bay’s two main cities. But residents say its issues, particularly with transport, are detracting from its growth and rejuvenation.
On one hand, it’s a town where you essentially have to use a car, residents say. On the other hand, it’s also a town where its intersections make it extremely difficult to use a car.
Now residents of Clive have had enough. They want better, particularly as more houses pop up and more commuters strike the problems they’re having.
Glenis Libby is helping to organise a Clive community meeting for December 5, to see what can be done to get better services and facilities for Clive.
Libby is not currently a resident of Clive, but her father still lives in the town and she runs a small community social group called Tommy’s DropIn Centre from the local church, St Francis.
To get there she has to go through Clive’s war memorial-skirting hodgepodge School Rd intersection, a complicated set of roads just beside the Clive River bridge that Libby says needs a roundabout or some other fix.
Libby’s also calling for more buses and public transportation for those who can’t drive, meals on wheels service delivery, and a mobile library.
Clive resident Peter Zapasnick said the town he loves needs better infrastructure due to its growing population.
“Because of the number of new rest homes and retirement villages in Hawke’s Bay, we are going to have far more people of retirement age than the council has looked forward to,” he said.
“We’ve also got additional housing built now in Clive and the roads and all the other services have not been provided for.”
He said the School Rd intersection with Main and Ferry Rds was particularly bad.
“During peak traffic times, if you’re coming out from School or Ferry Rd, you don’t bother trying to go to Napier.”
Catherine Webster, Clive resident and chairwoman of the local parish board, said there are a lot of good things about living in the town but improvements were needed for people who didn’t have access to transport.
“As long as we can drive we are okay with living here. The day we lose our licence and can’t drive, that’s when we will have to move on.”
Katie Nimon, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council transport manager, said the council was working with local authorities to provide integrated, safe public transport stops for Clive.
These would include secure bike storage and e-bike charging stations within easy reach and in locations fed
by cycleways through the Regional Public Transport Plan.
“Clive is a key hub for this activity, due to the trail network to Haumoana and Te Awanga.”
She said updates to bus services planned for 2025 will open up opportunities for the Clive community to be increasingly connected to the wider public transport network.
“Clive is currently serviced by the bi-directional 11 Express service that runs between Havelock North and Napier, via Hastings, Whakatu, and Clive.
“In 2025, this route will change slightly, going from Hastings to Napier via Whakatu and Clive with the aim of hourly services.”
According to Rika Hentschel, general manager, support services and associate chief operating officer for Te Whatu Ora, Meals on Wheels is not able to support areas that, due to distance, make it impractical to deliver hot food.
People eligible for the service who are living in areas where there is no delivery can collect frozen meals from Hawke’s Bay Hospital.
“The provision for service delivery has been looked at for Clive, but due to staffing and resourcing capacity, Te Whatu Ora cannot commit to providing an ongoing, regular service at this stage,” Hentschel said.
A Hastings District Council spokesperson said the Clive community was in the early stages of discussing initiatives they would like to see with the council, including potentially producing an annual action plan or a new community plan in the New Year.
“Council has provided contacts for other providers the community may find useful and will continue to support the group through the community plan process.”
The meeting is at Farndon Hall, Farndon Rd, Clive, at 7pm.