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    • Consultation about the Long Term Plan 2024-2034 is underway - time to let the Council know your thoughts !
      • From the Wellington City Council What is the Long-term Plan? It costs about a billion dollars each year to run Wellington City. We collect this money through rates, fees and charges, development contributions, grants and borrowing. With input from the community, we need to decide how much we’ll spend on what, and what level of rates to set, so every three years we develop a Long-term Plan. The Long-term Plan sets out the Council's priorities. It includes detailed information on the activities, services, and projects we intend to deliver, and therefore what the proposed rates and debt will be for the next 10 years. Consultation is underway Formal consultation on the 2024-34 Long-term Plan is open until 12 May. To find out more about the Long-term Plan, read the consultation document, and submit a proposal, please visit the Long-term Plan 2024-34 website. As part of this process we are holding the following hui and would welcome your attendance: Long-term Plan Webinar, 2 May, 6-8pm: Click here to register Online meeting (Wadestown proposals), 22 April, 6.30-7.15pm: Click here for more information Online meeting (Khandallah proposals), 23 April, 6.30-7.15pm: Click here for more information Hapori Māori hui, 5 May, 11am-1pm: More information to come on our website We can continue to invest but need to balance the pace of our investment with affordability, so some tough decisions need to be made together. Providing feedback is an important way to have your say on the future of our city. If you require any more information on the Long-term Plan, feel free to visit wcc.nz/ltp. What’s in the draft plan? We need to make three big decisions – about water, waste and how we best manage our investment and insurance risk. Water Our water pipes are old and in poor condition. We’re proposing to spend more than ever before on fixing them. This is expensive and will increase rates and debt, so we need to decide how much we can afford to spend. Waste We need to reduce waste going to landfill. We could do this by introducing new Council wheelie bins for rubbish (collected fortnightly) and food scraps and garden waste (collected weekly). We’d introduce a new targeted rate to pay for this. Investments and insurance We need to better manage our insurance and our investment risks. Insurance is getting harder and more expensive to get, and the Council’s assets – like buildings, roads and pipes – are underinsured by $2.6 billion. We’re exposed if there’s a natural disaster, and our biggest investment assets, including our shares in Wellington Airport and ground leases, are poorly diversified and exposed to the same risks. We’re proposing to sell our shares in the airport and some ground leases to set up a new investment fund as a form of self-insurance, so we can diversify our investments and have money to help with recovery if there’s an earthquake or other disaster. More info here

    • Big news for Te Ngākau/Civic Square
      • From Wellington City Council We wanted to get in touch to make sure you were aware of the latest exciting news in Te Ngākau Civic Square. After a rigorous selection process, Council has selected Precinct Properties as its preferred developer for the Civic Administration Building (CAB) and Municipal Office Building (MOB) sites in Te Ngākau Civic Square. The selection of Precinct Properties confirms the decision to demolish MOB, as this was the basis of its proposal. Once CAB is demolished by the end of 2024 and MOB by the end of 2025, development of a new building can proceed on the two empty sites. The new five-star green building will activate Te Ngākau by enabling a range of around-the-clock activity including retail, hospitality, co-working, and office space, alongside civic and cultural spaces. It will also provide the front-of-house functions for the Town Hall and any national music centre requirements, while adding to the green space in Te Ngākau. More info and some indicative concept images can be found in our full story on Our Wellington.

    • Great events coming up at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this month!
      • The team at Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture & Heritage are keen to ensure you know about the following event so you can plan to come along and also to share with your friends and whānau :) From the Pukeahu team: We’ve got some exciting events coming up that I wanted to share out to our neighbours and community – I saw that Inner City Wellington had shared our other Yoga event so thought you might be interested in these Event: U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band Performance https://www.mch.govt.nz/events/us-marine-corps-forces-pacific-band-performance https://www.facebook.com/events/1248148623256037/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7D Event: Pukeahu Park Whānau Open Day https://www.mch.govt.nz/events/pukeahu-park-whanau-open-day https://tinyurl.com/34hxz9mf

    • Our latest ICW update is out
      • It features an item about some great activities happening in the Courtenay Precinct over the 6th & 7th April, and an ICW Demystifier about what’s happening with Civic Square/Te Ngākau. Read it here

    • DCM Art show! - Thu 11 April 2024
      • From Downtown Community Mission (DCM) DCM will be hosting an Art Show at Wesley Methodist Church, 75 Taranaki Street, (in the large hall at the back of the complex) on Thursday 11th of April from 3:00pm to 6:30pm. Six of our people will come together to exhibit their work, which will also be available for sale on the day, through cash or bank deposit. Refreshments will also be provided. We’d love you to join us – or if you can’t make it, spread the word. www.dcm.org.nz

    • How’s the traffic in Taranaki Street? An update on the pipes work being done
      • UPDATE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER OF GP FRIEL LTD Gabby the Guided Auger Bore & Other News from Taranaki St Rising Main February was a fantastic month for our project on Taranaki St and I wanted to share a quick update with you of the progress we have made. We are building a major new wastewater ‘rising main’ (a pipe that carries wastewater under pressure) along Taranaki St from Market Lane to Wigan St. We are delivering this project for Wellington Water, alongside GHD and on behalf of Wellington City Council. It will deliver a more resilient network for our wastewater and will cater for growth in our city. Our team in Wakefield St have now completed a successful pressure test of the new main installed under the intersection – including pipework towards Courtenay Place, connections for the new main already installed in Wakefield St outside Takina and for the future main that will head towards Michael Fowler Centre. We are now installing a pipe from Wakefield St into Market Lane by ramming a casing under the open lanes of Taranaki St. Using a trenchless technique like pipe ramming will allow us to keep Taranaki St flowing, traverse the congested underground services safely and reduce the amount of waste that we send to landfill. Pipe Ramming across to Market Lane The entrance to Market Lane from Jervois Quay has been widened to accommodate two way traffic while we have the exit to Taranaki St closed. New signage and road markings are in place. Please take care around these changed road layouts. At the southern end of Taranaki St between Ghuznee St and Wigan St we have now successfully installed 160m of new rising main using our new Laser Guided Auger Bore technique. This is an accurate way of installing pipes under the ground without having to dig up the road. It has meant that we have not had to disrupt traffic using Vivian St (State Highway 1) and we have minimised the amount of waste generated by the project. Over the next month we will repeat this activity to install pipes under Ghuznee St towards Courtenay Place. Gabby the Guided Auger Bore working to install pipes under Vivian St This month you will also see us start to work in Inglewood Place as we make gravity connections to the new pump station recently completed by our colleagues at Brian Perry Civil. This work will take approximately 3 months after which WCC will install the new public toilets and the final reinstatement will be completed. As ever, please take extra time for your journeys around the traffic management avoid the area if you can and follow the instructions of our onsite traffic management team. Our project is planned to be complete in mid-2025 so we are going to be in the area for a while. We will be putting out regular updates to this mailing list to keep you informed of changes to the site and the progress we are making. Let me know if you would like to be removed from the distribution. Feel free to also send this update to other businesses and residents in the area and encourage them to email us their details to be added to our list for updates. Please reach out if you have any questions about the work. Nga Mihi David Philipson General Manager. GP Friel Ltd.

    • Confused about something happening in the city - check out our Demystifying collection
      • There seems to be lots happening in the city that is generating discussion and debate. And sometimes there are things happening in the city that we’d just like to know a little bit more about. So ICW has started a little demystifying collection to see if that helps. Feel free to let us know if there’s something you would like demystified, or if we’ve missed something or have something wrong in what we’ve written. Here’s a link to the collection.

    • It’s Neighbours Aotearoa month - March 2024 - what’s on?
      • From WCC Neighbours Aotearoa is a national campaign celebrating the day-to-day connections that create community. Any day that you connect with your neighbours contributes to a stronger neighbourhood, but in March we’re all encouraged to go a little further. Neighbours Aotearoa – March 2024: This year’s theme is ‘Growing Together’. Strong neighbourhoods are built on big and small gestures of kindness and care. Whether you live in an apartment building, a marina or a suburban street, how can you grow your community in March? Could you host or attend a neighbourhood picnic, a street potluck, or a working bee at a community garden? Share surplus fruit? Set up an online group for your apartment building? Isolation is an increasing challenge in New Zealand. Together, we can foster a sense of whanaungatanga and manākitanga that makes our neighbourhoods friendlier, more resilient, and all-round happier places. There are local events happening around the city - to see the list of what’s on in your area, click here.

    • Something free! - Te Papa’s Dinosaurs of Patagonia exhibition
      • From Wellington City Council news Wellington City Council is a founding partner, and has proudly supported Te Papa for over 20 years. As part of their partnership with Wellington City Council, Te Papa hosts an annual residents day where everyone who lives in Wellington City can enjoy a major exhibition free of charge. This year, the free day is on Tuesday 12 March from 10am-6pm, with the exhibition having a timed entry and session time allocations. Tickets can only be collected on the day, and in the past, free day has been extremely popular, and entry tickets go fast – so get in early.

    • Rates increase of 16.4% proposed for community consultation</a#x3E;
      • From Wellington City Council news - 6 March 2024 Wellington City Councillors will next week (week commencing 11 March) agree the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan Consultation Document for auditing prior to community consultation in April. This includes a proposed rates increase for the 2024/2025 year of 16.4% (after growth in the ratepayer base). This excludes the levy for the Moa Point Sludge Minimisation Facility, which will add a further 1.6%. Read more here

    • WCC votes 9-7 to support Reading Cinemas with $32m deal</a#x3E;
      • From Scoop. 29 February 2024 The bid to stop a Wellington City Council deal with the owners of the long-closed Reading Cinema in Courtenay Place has failed, with seven councillors voting against the deal and nine in favour of it. The controversial $32m deal will see the council buy the land under the cinema complex, and rent it back to the private international company, which will use that money to pay for earthquake strengthening. The council says the deal is fiscally neutral, but those who voted against it say it is a form of corporate welfare. Read more

    • Watch the Livestream recording of the recent ‘Living with Earthquake Risk - have we got it right’ public meeting
      • On Thursday 22 February 2024 at St Peter’s Church on Willis Street the folks from Live Wellington held a public meeting to discuss the hot topics of earthquake-prone buildings and affordable insurance for apartment buildings. The ongoing frustration of trying to meet earthquake building standards was evident. Around 50 people attended the event, which explored the issues facing apartment homeowners whose buildings have been declared earthquake prone by the council, and who are supposed to meet deadlines for bringing them up to prescribed standards. Two apartment owners shared the long and stressful process of trying to find a solution for their building while questions from the floor also led to more examples of the impossible situation in which apartment owners find themselves. Some solutions that could be explored for the ever-increasing cost of apartment building insurance was also offered by speaker David Middleton, the former head of the Earthquake Commission, and now a consultant specialising in insurance. Watch the Livestream recording available on YouTube here

    • Check out Coverwell - the website for the insurance working group
      • From Geraldine Murphy, ICW Spokesperson on Seismic Affairs Further to our earlier updates on insurance, a website for the working group looking at insurance issues has now been established. Coverwell: Transforming Apartment Insurance in Wellington We are working to promote affordable, fair, and sustainable solutions enabling the placement of effective insurance cover for Wellington apartment owners. Coverwell website link What is Coverwell? Coverwell is the name of the working group that has been established to begin the research and engagement on insurance issues. On the website, under 'Resources'. - you’ll find a flyer for Chairs (or owners with delegated responsibility for insurance) which provides an overview of CoverWell's activities. There is also a form that Chairs etc can fill in which will provide high-level information about the Chair/delegate and the building to help CoverWell to engage with you in the future. The website is in the early stages and will be updated over time. Geraldine Murphy

    • Reminder - Insurance matters - Treasury Survey and BC contacts
      • From ICW’s Geraldine Murphy - Spokesperson on Seismic Matters - 0274 507804 Kia ora koutou. Here’s: a reminder about the insurance issues covered in our earlier email of 16 Jan (see below) on The Treasury insurance survey and collection of contact details of chairpersons and a heads-up about a documentary series called 'A Living Hell: Apartment Disasters 2' which will screen on SkyOpen from 4 February 2024. The status of the Treasury insurance survey Thank you to those who have completed and sent in your completed survey. This is sincerely appreciated. So far around 25 responses have been received. This is a low number considering there are over 250 apartment buildings in the central city and inner suburbs alone. The Body Corporate Chairs' Group has sent an email to its members and we hope/expect that there will be responses from all its members. In the meantime, ICW encourages you to: if you have already forwarded the survey: check with your Chairperson that a response has been provided, or is underway or, if you have not yet forwarded the survey: forward the survey document (or this email) and ask for it to be completed on behalf of all owners before the deadline of 15 February. The completed survey should be sent to lisa.davies@treasury.govt.nz We are aware that there will be duplication in communications you may receive about it, but we feel it is critical to ensure you are aware of it and that we get a large number of responses to ensure The Treasury has enough data to effectively inform the Minister. This is our earlier 16 January email ____________ About this email ICW (Inner-City Wellington Residents Associations) is part of a group focused on the issue of rising costs for insurance for inner-city Wellington residential buildings. We know that the cost of insurance is a significant issue for many inner-city residents but there's a big gap in the information available to central government about insurance challenges for apartment buildings. This is serious, given that the inner-city has over 125 apartment buildings where thousands of people are already owner-occupiers or tenants, with more to come. This email is to ask for your help with the following: to circulate and complete the attached Treasury Survey on insurance premiums for apartment buildings to provide us with the contact details of the Chairperson (or Committee member) of your building. - If you are the Chairperson, we urge you to read this email and provide the required information. - If you are not the Chairperson, please could you forward this email to the Chairperson or a Committee member, urging them to respond. What to do & the background 1. Please download and complete the Word-based Treasury survey - because the Treasury does not have information about apartment buildings (contact us for the survey) In mid-2022, the Treasury approached ICW and the Body Corporate Chairs' Group (BCCG) to discuss its initiative to collect information on insurance premiums for apartment buildings. The information would inform its work on monitoring price and availability changes following the increase to the EQC cap, and to track changes in insurance price and availability more broadly over time. As the Treasury's sources to obtain information on standalone houses does not include apartment buildings, we discussed how ICW and BCCG could assist through our networks. The survey is an opportunity for Chairpersons of apartment buildings to provide data on your experience of obtaining insurance on behalf of the owners in your buildings. This data will be used to inform Ministers of the realities of insurance for apartment buildings. This survey is the only source of information for the Treasury on apartment building insurance matters. The Treasury has provided a brief background in the attached document, along with contact details if you have any questions. ICW urges you to respond and complete this survey - the more responses, the better informed the Ministers will be. 2. Collecting the contact details of Chairpersons of apartment buildings to engage on insurance issues Separate from the Treasury survey, ICW and a few Body Corporate Chairs are looking into the issues around natural disaster (EQ) insurance facing apartment buildings. The cost and availability of natural disaster insurance cover in Wellington for multi-unit, multi-owner apartment buildings is creating problems with affordability and, in turn, saleability and value. The Unit Titles Act constrains Body Corporates' options in terms of insurance cover. We have established a collaborative group to coordinate research and engagement with relevant Ministers, government agencies and people in the insurance sector. Having current data on apartment buildings and insurance cover is essential for this. As there is not a central database of apartment buildings we are seeking your help to collect or confirm the names and contact details for the Body Corporate, Company Share, Cross-lease Chair of your apartment building so we can communicate directly with them to assess the level of interest in this issue and as a source of data to inform our research and engagement with key stakeholders. The data we would like to collect initially is: Address (and name, if there is one) of building Name of building chairperson Email address of chairperson Number of units in the building Whether the legal structure of the building is unit title, company share, or cross lease We are seeking confirmation from the Chair, that ICW can: ·use your data for the purpose of research and communications on insurance matters; provide your data to a small working group of body corp chairs/ICW for engagement and data gathering for multi-unit insurance-related purposes; use your data for communications on general apartment building matters that may be of interest to multi-unit owners. Privacy: Building identification and contact information will not be provided to any other third party unless the Body Corporate Chairperson/individual expressly agrees. We are aware that people may still be away over this holiday period and we will send reminder emails to ensure everyone has an opportunity to respond. BCCG (Body Corporate Chairs Group) will also be circulating information on the Treasury survey. Some recipients may receive multiple emails - and we apologise for this - but we believe that insurance is such an important issue that chairs will want to respond. If you have any questions about these activities, please respond to this email: innercitywellington@gmail.com ________________ Documentary You may recall a documentary in 2021 focusing primarily on weathertightness issues in apartment buildings. Further episodes in this series will start on Sunday 4 February, 8.30pm on the free to air channel Sky Open (previously Prime). Seismic issues are covered in the first episode on 4 February. The three episodes will canvas a number of issues: lessons from the past, lessons from the present, lessons for the future. About the earlier programme The 2021 episode was shown again on SkyOpen on Sunday 28 January, 8.30pm. We've been told all episodes are likely to be available on Neon at some point. Geraldine Murphy - Spokesperson on Seismic Matters - 0274 507804

    • Earthquake-prone buildings plus the rising cost of insurance for apartment buildings
      • There's been a lot of media coverage about these topics in the last month or so, including the recent documentary on Sky. If you're interested, we've compiled a clickable list (below) to the recent stories. You'll also find this list on this page which also includes some of the work being done to liaise with Treasury and Minister Penk. Links to recent media RNZ. Nine to Noon. 5 Feb 2024: Doco series finds defective builds still plaguing New Zealand Documentaries. SkyGo. 4 Feb.2024. ‘A Living Hell: Apartment Disasters 1’ & ‘Living Hell: Apartment Disasters 2’. ICW News item: 1 Feb 2024: Attention apartment building Chairs/Committee: here’s an opportunity to respond to The Treasury's survey The Herald. 1 Feb 2024: Apartment owners struggle with skyrocketing insurance premiums, Treasury admits ‘knowledge gap’ ICW News item. 31 Jan 2024: Body Corporates Chairs / Committees - have you heard about this? ICW News item. 30 Jan 2024: Look out for the documentary ‘A Living Hell: Apartment Disasters 02’ The Post. 27 Jan 24 (paywall): Minister wants to tackle quake prone building system issues RNZ Nine to Noon. 24 Jan 2024: Earthquake-prone building regulations unaffordable for some The Post. 20 Jan 2024 (paywall): Quake compliance costs burying apartment owners

    • Come along to Live Wellington’s Earthquake-prone/insurance-related public meeting
      • We want to let you know about a very topical earthquake-prone / insurance-related public meeting being run by the Live WELLington team. "... many of those currently living in apartment complexes are facing a myriad of challenges, from increasing earthquake standards, rising and unaffordable insurance costs and leaky building issues...." At the meeting, Live WELLington will have two affected home-owners sharing their experiences and, as well, the ex-head of EQC - who now consults on insurance matters overseas and in New Zealand - will be speaking. __________________ The when, where info: Thursday 22 February 5.15pm Garden Room of St Peter's Church (entrance off Ghuznee Street) RSVP here __________________ Who is Live WELLington LIVE WELLington is a group for people who love Wellington and want to ensure this city continues to be wonderful, for future generations to enjoy. __________________ Here's the event information from Live Wellington: 'Living with earthquake risk – have we got it right?' More Wellingtonians will be living in apartment buildings in coming decades if the city embraces denser living for practical and environmental reasons. However many of those currently living in apartment complexes are facing a myriad of challenges, from increasing earthquake standards, rising and unaffordable insurance costs and leaky building issues. Often these are compounded by the challenge of the body corporate set up, which requires all owners to agree on a solution. If we can’t get apartment living right, how can we achieve a liveable city in the future? In this public meeting, we explore this issue with two affected homeowners. Mel Johnston and Craig Sengelow are among a group of apartment owners facing daunting costs to bring their Newtown apartment block up to current earthquake standards. We are also joined by the former head of the EQC, David Middleton. David was made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit for his leadership of EQC and since then has been a consultant on insurance matters overseas and in New Zealand, including providing advice to the previous Wellington Mayor and the Minister of Finance. RSVP here

    • How’s the Taranaki St Rising Main project going? Here’s an update from the engineering company doing the work
      • 1 February 2024 - An update from David Philipson, General Manager | GP Friel Ltd. Kia Ora, Happy new year. I hope you all had a great break and are as excited about 2024 as I am. While I had a bit of extra time on leave the teams on Taranaki St have been pushing on with the project and I’m stoked about the progress that they have made while I was away. This is a quick update about what we have achieved so far this year and a heads up about how the project will look over the next couple of months. The Taranaki St Rising Main is a new major wastewater pipe along Taranaki St from Market Lane to Wigan St. This project will deliver a more resilient network for our wastewater and will cater for growth in our city. We are pleased to be delivering this fantastic project for Wellington Water alongside GHD and on behalf of Wellington City Council. Our team in Wakefield St has been working outside the BP Service Station to connect up to the existing rising main heading towards Oriental Bay. This was a tricky piece of work where they had to overcome a high water table and congested services. The pipes are now installed and ready for testing over the next couple of weeks. Later in February this team will start work in Market Lane to bring the new connection from the pump station outside Mojo to the pipes they have completed in Taranaki St. When we work in Market Lane we will close access from Taranaki St and open the access on Cable St to be two way. We will be in touch again before we do that to keep you informed. Complex pipework in the Taranaki/Wakefield Intersection Our team in Taranaki St has now installed the new pipe between Wakefield St and Courtenay Place. They have completed work in the vicinity of Te Aro Pa (the original settlement in Wellington). While progress was a bit slower through this section due to working in the archaeology, we are really pleased to have been able to help preserve some of the history of the City. The Project Archaeologist made some interesting finds from Te Aro Pa and the development that followed and we are looking forward to seeing the final report. Over the next few weeks we will be reinstating the road surface through this area so that we can move on to other parts of the project. The remains of a slipway on the old shoreline At the southern end of Taranaki St - between Ghuznee St and Wigan St - we have some new traffic management sites and we will be installing pipes through this location over the next couple of months. As this activity progresses we will move along Taranaki St to join up to the sections we have already installed to the north of Courtenay Place. We will share updates about progress as we move to new areas. Preparing to install pipes under Vivian St - 1 Preparing to install pipes under Vivian St - 2 What next You will also see our crews start work in Inglewood Place in a few months as our colleagues at Brian Perry complete their work on the Pump Station and we start to complete the connections for this important addition to the pump station network in the CBD. As ever, please take extra time for your journeys around the traffic management avoid the area if you can and follow the instructions of our onsite traffic management team. Our project is planned to be complete in mid-2025 so we are going to be in the area for a while. We will be putting out regular updates to this mailing list to keep you informed of changes to the site and the progress we are making. Let me know if you would like to be removed from the distribution. Feel free to also send this update to other businesses and residents in the area and encourage them to email us their details to be added to our list for updates. Please reach out if you have any questions about the work. Nga Mihi David Philipson General Manager | GP Friel Ltd.

    • Attention apartment building Chairs/Committee: here’s an opportunity to respond to The Treasury's survey
      • I CW (Inner-City Wellington Residents Association) is part of a working group focused on the issue of rising costs for insurance for Wellington residential apartment buildings. We know that the cost of insurance is a significant issue for many apartment owners but there's a big gap in the information available to central government about insurance challenges for apartment buildings. This is serious, given that there are over 250 apartment buildings in the inner-city and inner suburbs where thousands of people are already owner-occupiers or tenants, with more to come. To gather more information, Treasury has developed a survey (download and complete this Word document) for Chairpersons to fill in. The completed survey should be sent to The Treasury (the survey document includes the email addres of where to send it when completed). The due date for responses to the survey is 15 February 2024. The working group is also developing a list of Chairpersons' contact details so it can communicate directly with Chairpersons as the work progresses. If you are the Chair or part of a Body Corporate Committee (or equivalent, for example Company Share) in a Wellington apartment building, and would like to know more about this initiative or to be added to the list, please contact: innercitywellington@gmail.com

    • Body Corporates Chairs / Committees - have you heard about this?
      • ICW (Inner-City Wellington Residents Associations) is part of a group focused on the issue of rising costs for insurance for inner-city Wellington residential buildings. We know that the cost of insurance is a significant issue for many inner-city residents but there's a big gap in the information available to central government about insurance challenges for apartment buildings. This is serious, given that the inner-city has over 125 apartment buildings where thousands of people are already owner-occupiers or tenants, with more to come. To gather more information, Treasury has developed a survey for Body Corporate Chairs to complete. If you are the Chair or part of a Body Corporate Committee (or equivalent, for example Company Share) in a Wellington apartment building, and would like to know more about this initiative, feel free to contact us at email: innercitywellington@gmail.com

    • Look out for the documentary “A Living Hell: Apartment Disasters 02”
      • Some may recall a documentary in 2021 focusing primarily on weathertightness issues in apartment buildings. Further episodes in this series will start on Sunday 4 February, 8.30pm on Sky Open (previously Prime). Seismic issues are covered in the first episode on 4 February. The three episodes will canvas a number of issues: lessons from the past, lessons from the present, lessons for the future. Earlier programme The 2021 episode will be shown again on Sunday 28 January, 8.30pm. We've been told all episodes are likely to be available on Neon at some point.

    • Who was there? What did they say? Watch the recording of our By-Election Meet the Candidates event
      • On Thursday 25 January ICW & EKTA NZ hosted a “Meet the Candidates for the Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward By-Election 2024. All seven candidates who are standing for this Ward attended. What did they say? What didn’t they say? Thanks to the generous assistance of the great video team from It’s in the Ballot you can find out by watching this recording of the live stream (fast forward to 11:45 minutes in for the start). There is also an excellent writeup of the event by Scoop. A sincere thank you to all the candidates for attending, and for the over 150 people who came along to join us on the night. So all you need to do now is watch the recording, read about the candidates and their policies (see links below), watch out for the voting papers to arrive (see below for info and what to do if they don’t), make your decision - and vote! Please don’t let this important opportunity for you to shape our city’s Council pass you by. Our event: the Live Stream recording (starts 11:45 minutes in) The questions we asked Q1: Reviving the city Q2: Promoting a cosmopolitan community Q3: Funding priorities Q4: Earthquake-prone buildings - the impact on apartment living and the city Q5: The cost of insurance Q6: The Golden Mile Q7: Transparency and communication Want to see more? Here’s a recording from the ‘Meet the Candidates’ event produced and directed by the It’s in the Ballot team (the event starts at 18:20 minutes in) This was held on 24 January and four of the candidates attended (Ellen Blake, Edward Griffiths, Joan Shi and Peter Wakeman). Different questions were asked and answered - in the fun and relaxed style of “It’s in the Bag” - worth a watch ! Background to this By-Election Wellington has some knotty challenges in 2024 - revisiting the Golden Mile, fixing our leaky pipes, managing the Town Hall and Central Library developments, and building relationships with the new central government. With Tamatha Paul now an MP, someone is needed to fill the gap on the Wellington City Council. Who will it be? So that's why there's a Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward by-election in February and there are seven candidates seeking your vote. Read the what, when and who for this By-Election Key Information: this WCC page has all the details. For example: Voting papers should arrive by Thursday 1 February 2024, voting opens on Friday 26 January 2024, voting closes at 12noon Saturday 17 February 2024. The suburbs in this Ward are: Thorndon, Pipitea, Wellington Central, Te Aro, Oriental Bay, Kelburn, Highbury, Aro Valley, Mount Cook, Mount Victoria. Who are the candidates? There are 7 candidates (in alphabetical order). Ellen Blake (Independent) Candidate Statement ellen4council@gmail.com Scoop story Instagram X/Twitter Facebook Edward Griffiths (Independent) Candidate Statement Web page Scoop story Facebook Zan Rai Gyaw (Independent) Candidate Statement Scoop story Facebook Geordie Rogers (The Green Party) Candidate Statement Web page The Post story (paywall) Spinoff story Facebook Joan Shi (Independent) Candidate Statement Web page Video Scoop story Policy statement Facebook Karl Tiefenbacher (Independent) Candidate Statement Scoop story The Post story (may be paywalled) Facebook Peter Wakeman (Independent) Candidate Statement YouTube video Facebook

    • The By-Election - Meet the Candidates event & what do we know about the candidates?
      • ICW & EKTA NZ invite you to Meet the Candidates for the Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward By-Election 2024 There’s a by-election coming up in 2024 - who will you vote for? Come and meet the candidates to hear their ideas! When: Thursday, 25 Jan 2024 Where: in the Garden Room of St Peter’s on Willis (entrance off Ghuznee Street) What time: 6.00pm - 7.30pm (doors open at 5.30pm) RSVP here ___________________________ About Wellington has some knotty challenges in 2024 - revisiting the Golden Mile, fixing our leaky pipes, managing the Town Hall and Central Library developments, and building relationships with the new central government. With Tamatha Paul now an MP, someone is needed to fill the gap on the Wellington City Council. Who will it be? So that's why there's a Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward by-election in February and there are seven candidates seeking your vote. ICW and EKTA NZ is inviting you to our 'meet the candidates' at the Garden Room (just off Ghuznee Street). Come along to hear their ideas and to ask them your questions! ___________________________ Wellington City Council webpage Check this WCC page out for all the details. For example: Key dates (eg: voting papers should arrive by Thursday 1 February 2024 | voting opens on Friday 26 January 2024 | voting closes at 12noon Saturday 17 February 2024) Suburbs in the Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward Thorndon Pipitea Wellington Central Te Aro Oriental Bay Kelburn Highbury Aro Valley Mount Cook Mount Victoria Candidate contact details – 2024 by-election (21KB XLSX) Contact details have been provided by candidates. Some candidates have chosen not to share some contact details. ___________________________ Who are the candidates? There are 7 candidates, We’ve been hoovering up links to any information we’ve found that is available from the candidates. Ellen Blake (Independent) Statement from 2022 Facebook Edward Griffiths (Independent) Web page Scoop story Facebook Zan Rai Gyaw (Independent) Scoop story Facebook Geordie Rogers (the Greens) Web page Spinoff story Joan Shi (Independent) Video Policy statement Facebook Karl Tiefenbacher (Independent) Scoop story Facebook Peter Wakeman (Independent) YouTube video Facebook

    • Recycling tips from WCC
      • Wellington City Council has put together a few reminders for us all on how to prepare our recycling properly. Top tips: If you’re not sure what can be recycled, use this tool on the Council’s website. When it comes to plastics, it’s as easy as 1,2,5 – they’re the items that can be recycled in Pōneke. Remember to wash all recyclables, but don’t squash them. Squashed items are harder for our recycling facility to accurately sort and so can end up being sent to landfill. And don’t forget, you must remove lids from everything: bottles, jars, containers. Lids can be dropped off to be recycled at the Tip Shop at the Southern Landfill, some community centres, or at the Sustainability Trust, 2 Forresters Lane. Check out our handy guide for more information.

    • How are burglars getting into your apartment building?You might be surprised!
      • The Wellington Police team wants you to know about the following: "In the last couple of weeks Police have received reports of burglaries to apartments / tower buildings where access has been gained through unlocked doors/ ranch sliders or windows of the upper levels. Person/s are taking advantage of close adjacent buildings/ scaffolding and/or fences to reach upper level balconies to get into an address. Small high valued items that can be carried on person are being targeted. No matter what floor/level you are on ...ensure all windows and doors are locked, and that electronic / high valued items are secured away when not in use. And finally - make sure you report anything suspicious to 105 or if in an emergency 111."

    • Update from Let's Get Wellington Moving - re Cuba Street upgrades
      • Kia ora koutou This email is to update you on the Traffic Resolution process for Cuba Street upgrades as part of the City Streets programme of Let’s Get Wellington Moving. What’s happened In July the team from Let’s Get Wellington Moving and Wellington City Council City Design spoke with a number of businesses on Cuba Street about potential street enhancements including changing the allocation of space in the street to create more space for pedestrians, reducing the amount of parked cars to make the street feel calmer and more open, identifying opportunities for colour and art, and prioritising remaining vehicle parking. A basic concept was discussed, and information was gathered from local businesses about their needs and wants, how the concept could work for them, and to understand any possible challenges. The team then committed to revisit businesses towards the end of the year with next steps. Since this time, we’ve heard that while there is majority support for these concepts from businesses, there is also uncertainty about what any works may mean, and the impacts businesses may experience, particularly timing of any works if these were to occur over the busy Christmas period. More recently the Toomath’s building fire on Ghuznee Street has caused disruption and will continue to do so (albeit in a more specific area) until the demolition is completed, currently anticipated to be early November. Next steps Because of this, we’ve taken the decision to press pause on this work and regroup in the new year so that we can get things right. At this stage, the team plans on picking back up engagement in February/March 2024 with a view to head into formal traffic resolution (TR) consultation process soon after. While the concept is directly for Cuba Street, we know there will be businesses in neighbouring streets who will be interested in the proposal – please be assured that the TR consultation is the formal process which any interested party can participate and have their say. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or concerns, Nga mihi nui Tommy Wilson Traffic Resolutions Coordinator| Transport and Infrastructure | Wellington City Council E tommy.wilson@wcc.govt.nz| W Wellington.govt.nz | |

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