Two more added
Councillor, board member likely
Waipa¯ District Council is likely to add an additional Cambridge councillor and community board member to comply with the Local Electoral Act following a recommendation by the Finance and Corporate Committee at last week’s meeting.
The recommendation will be considered by the full council meeting today and is expected to be adopted. It follows formal consultation with the wider Waipa¯ community which recommended the change.
Cambridge councillor and deputy mayor Grahame Webber says the recommendation has been brought about by the growth in Cambridge.
He says Waipa¯ councillors have a demanding workload, and if they want to continue to do the best for ratepayers, the extra councillor and community board member for Cambridge makes sense.
Under the proposal there would be five Cambridge ward councillors and four Te Awamutu ward councillors. Two rural wards — Kakepuku and Maungatautari — would continue to have one representative each. The third rural ward, Pirongia, would continue to be represented by two elected members.
There would also be one additional member for the Cambridge community board, making six members in total — five representing Cambridge and one representing Maungatautari.
These were the only changes proposed following a formal review of how well ratepayers and residents are represented.
Another option involved having fewer wards, however councillors wanted to retain the existing wards to ensure rural representation was maintained and smaller communities continued to be well represented.
All councils must review their make-up every six years to ensure representation is fair and effective.
Waipa¯’s review showed population growth in Cambridge meant one more councillor and community board member was needed for that ward to comply with the Local Electoral Act.
Grahame says demand for land for both residential and commercial development in Cambridge is at an all time high.
He says it is a combination of factors, such as Aucklanders moving south, Hamiltonians looking for better lifestyles and rural folk moving off farms and retiring to town.
But, he says, the main factor is people are realising Waipa¯ has a lot to offer in terms of lifestyle, good amenities, good schools and, with the Waikato Expressway, great access to Auckland, Hamilton, the Bay of Plenty and south.
“We have developed Waipa¯ as ‘the home of champions’ and to some extent are the architects of our own success,” says Grahame.
“Other benefits of the growing population, which are already evident, are more jobs, even better retail, eating and entertainment options and investment into improved infrastructure and amenities.”
He says council is doing its best to control and manage the growth to give ratepayers the best value for money.
The residential development at Norfolk Drive will include a new community hub and commercial development to the north is bringing a number of large businesses together. Grahame says another stage is approved which will see a potential 1275 homes on both sides of the former SH1 between the new Te Awa Lifecare Village and St Peter’s School.
If the decision is approved today the new representation arrangements will be in place for the 2019 local body elections.