https://wellington.gen.nz/business Wellington related newsitems tagged with Business http://wps.wps.org.nz/impact-magazine-january-2021/ Happy New Year! It’s a new year and that means its time for a new issue! Inside this issue, you’ll find articles on Artificial intelligence & Photography, an exploration on why you should avoid the hype on new gear, a look at DxO’s Silver Efex Pro, a guide on why you should join a camera club or society and a review of the vintage Braun Super Paxette among other great articles. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 08:04:38 GMT http://wps.wps.org.nz/impact-magazine-january-2021/ Wellington Photographic Society 2021-01-01T08:04:38Z http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/2020-3/ Just wanted to offer a huge Slow Boat CHEERS to everyone who has supported us this year; it has certainly been one of the strangest I can recall – far and away the longest the ‘Boat has ever been docked in 35-odd years of trading!Hugely grateful to everyone who has bought music and more from us, who has been patient waiting on the arrival of stock that sometimes took an absolute age, and to those who came along and lent their support on the three Record Store Day ‘drops’, and for those unforgettable instore performances from The Muttonbirds (way back in February!), and The Beths in October – just quite phenomenal to have a shop full of people after all this year’s trials and tribulations and uncertainty.Our hearts go out to those overseas who may still be in some sort of lockdown – we are thinking of you, and we appreciate that we are in a very privileged position out here in our far flung corner of the world (and how quickly that can change).This years lessons often seemed to come down to one of our Prime Minister’s oft-stated maxims – kindness. It has been amazing to give and receive support to and from our customers and community at this strange time – especially our neighbours at San Fran and Rough Peel Records, as well as our suppliers, especially Southbound, Rhythmethod, Border Music and Universal Music NZ.We are thankful to be able to do this thing we love, and to share the gift that is music in our lives – it has certainly been a great comfort to us all here in these trying times…So, take care everybody – hope you all enjoy a safe and happy festive season – we will be here every day bar Xmas Day and New Years Day, so looking forward to seeing how you all redeem the many vouchers we have sold (it’s not too late, btw…)Keep scanning those QR codes, wash your hands, get tested if you are unwell – love, peace, kindness, and music!THE SLOW BOAT CREW XX Thu, 24 Dec 2020 01:36:06 GMT http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/2020-3/ Slow Boat Records 2020-12-24T01:36:06Z -41.2944181 174.7752129 http://wps.wps.org.nz/christmas-social-10th-dec-2020/ You’re invited to join us on Thursday, 10 December, at 7:00pm for our final meeting of the year at the Tararua Tramping Club. Mon, 07 Dec 2020 09:43:42 GMT http://wps.wps.org.nz/christmas-social-10th-dec-2020/ Wellington Photographic Society 2020-12-07T09:43:42Z https://www.centreport.co.nz/information-library/news/centreport-regeneration-thorndon-container-wharf-reinstatement-project A project to reinstate operational capacity of CentrePort’s Thorndon Container Wharf has commenced. Fri, 27 Nov 2020 01:12:58 GMT https://www.centreport.co.nz/information-library/news/centreport-regeneration-thorndon-container-wharf-reinstatement-project CentrePort 2020-11-27T01:12:58Z https://www.centreport.co.nz/information-library/news/centreport-regeneration-current-progress CentrePort CEO Derek Nind has announced details of an ambitious regeneration programme that will support its business objectives of; - Building a long term sustainable and resilient business - Growing freight capacity - Optimising land use and enabling urban integration - Strengthening relationships with stakeholders. Fri, 27 Nov 2020 00:11:49 GMT https://www.centreport.co.nz/information-library/news/centreport-regeneration-current-progress CentrePort 2020-11-27T00:11:49Z https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/submission-on-publicly-notified-proposed-porirua-district-plan- Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/submission-on-publicly-notified-proposed-porirua-district-plan- Porirua Chamber of Commerce 2020-11-24T00:00:00Z https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/-rating-and-revenue-and-financing-policy- Porirua City Council is undertaking a review of the Rating Policy, as well as the Revenue and Financing Policy, as part of it’s preconsultaion on the 2020/2021… Sun, 01 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/-rating-and-revenue-and-financing-policy- Porirua Chamber of Commerce 2020-11-01T00:00:00Z http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/the-beths-live-instore-at-slow-boat/ Those splendid folks from Tamaki Makaurau, The Beths, on top of their THREE sold out shows at San Fran, have generously agreed to perform a second Slow Boat instore, this time at 2pm on Saturday the 10th of October, as they finally get to celebrate the release of their superb sophomore album “Jump Rope Gazers” with a tour. Fri, 02 Oct 2020 04:17:48 GMT http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/the-beths-live-instore-at-slow-boat/ Slow Boat Records 2020-10-02T04:17:48Z -41.2944181 174.7752129 http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/rsd-drop-2/ After a couple of false starts(!!), and with the dropping of the nationwide covid alert levels, Slow Boat is thrilled to finally be able to bring you some form of celebration – the second of three 2020 RSD drops, this Saturday, the 26th September, featuring a nifty, stripped-back instore performance from Auckland indie rock up-and-comers Daffodils, ahead of their show at Meow later that evening, celebrating the release of their excellent “Boys” EP on vinyl, which will be for sale instore!On top of this, you can expect a smattering of limited RSD vinyl and some mighty good cheer as we celebrate independent record stores, music and togetherness!! We would ask that you are super considerate of each other, and give each other space – we will be limiting the number of people instore at any given time, and the band will be performing at around 2.30pm – can’t WAIT to see all your smiling faces!!See you all here!! XX Wed, 23 Sep 2020 00:06:10 GMT http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/rsd-drop-2/ Slow Boat Records 2020-09-23T00:06:10Z -41.2944181 174.7752129 http://wps.wps.org.nz/wellington-photographic-society-2020-exhibition-2/ Wellington Photographic Society – Annual Exhibition 2020 13-27 October 2020 – Te Auaha Gallery You are invited to enjoy the Annual Exhibition of the Wellington Photographic Society, being held this year in the Te Auaha Gallery Dates and Times: Te Auaha Gallery, Dixon Street, 13-27 October 2020. Tue, 22 Sep 2020 02:16:57 GMT http://wps.wps.org.nz/wellington-photographic-society-2020-exhibition-2/ Wellington Photographic Society 2020-09-22T02:16:57Z https://www.centreport.co.nz/information-library/news/centreport-continues-to-build-regeneration-momentum CentrePort’s regeneration continued to gain momentum while it provided essential services through the COVID crisis in what has been a challenging 2019/20 financial year. Wed, 16 Sep 2020 01:11:49 GMT https://www.centreport.co.nz/information-library/news/centreport-continues-to-build-regeneration-momentum CentrePort 2020-09-16T01:11:49Z http://wps.wps.org.nz/wellington-photographic-society-2020-exhibition/ The exhibition is being held this year at the Te Auaha Gallery in Dixon St and will run from 19-28 October. Mon, 14 Sep 2020 04:18:54 GMT http://wps.wps.org.nz/wellington-photographic-society-2020-exhibition/ Wellington Photographic Society 2020-09-14T04:18:54Z http://wps.wps.org.nz/glenburn-station-field-trip/ Join us at Glenburn Station in the Wairarapa Coast for a memorable weekend of photography and fun with fellow photographers. Mon, 07 Sep 2020 08:47:53 GMT http://wps.wps.org.nz/glenburn-station-field-trip/ Wellington Photographic Society 2020-09-07T08:47:53Z http://wps.wps.org.nz/2020-agm-agenda-and-documents/ Members of the Wellington Photographic Society are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting: 7. Wed, 02 Sep 2020 11:31:13 GMT http://wps.wps.org.nz/2020-agm-agenda-and-documents/ Wellington Photographic Society 2020-09-02T11:31:13Z https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/covid-19-impacts-on-porirua-businesses-ongoing- Results from the recent Central New Zealand business confidence survey reveals that Porirua businesses are feeling optimistic about their own businesses,… Tue, 01 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/covid-19-impacts-on-porirua-businesses-ongoing- Porirua Chamber of Commerce 2020-09-01T00:00:00Z https://www.centreport.co.nz/information-library/news/centreport-regeneration-thorndon-container-wharf-resilience-project-2020 A project to improve the resilience of CentrePort’s Thorndon Container Wharf will be undertaken over the next few months. Mon, 31 Aug 2020 21:20:01 GMT https://www.centreport.co.nz/information-library/news/centreport-regeneration-thorndon-container-wharf-resilience-project-2020 CentrePort 2020-08-31T21:20:01Z http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/record-store-day-2020/ Well, best laid plans of mice and men, etc – we had some really fun stuff lined up for RSD 2020, a day dear to our hearts – and yours, as it happens. Tue, 25 Aug 2020 01:52:07 GMT http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/record-store-day-2020/ Slow Boat Records 2020-08-25T01:52:07Z -41.2944181 174.7752129 https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/transmission-gully-better-late-than-never News today that Transmission Gully will open September 2021, over a year and half later than it was initially scheduled, is better late than never, says the Porirua… Fri, 21 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/transmission-gully-better-late-than-never Porirua Chamber of Commerce 2020-08-21T00:00:00Z https://www.wellingtonnz.com/about-wellingtonnz/media-centre/upper-hutts-new-film-studio-in-the-frame-for-world-recognition/ A new $45 million film studio development is under construction in Upper Hutt will put New Zealand in the frame to become the favoured global location for big screen blockbusters and television shows Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.wellingtonnz.com/about-wellingtonnz/media-centre/upper-hutts-new-film-studio-in-the-frame-for-world-recognition/ 2020-08-12T00:00:00Z https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/porirua-chamber-releases-2020-election-briefing-at-local-candidates-debate Media Release Wednesday, 5 August 2020 Porirua Chamber releases 2020 Election Briefing at local candidate’s debate Porirua… Wed, 05 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.poriruachamber.co.nz/news/porirua-chamber-releases-2020-election-briefing-at-local-candidates-debate Porirua Chamber of Commerce 2020-08-05T00:00:00Z http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/august-almost/ Crikey, and just when it seemed like it was only February, suddenly it was blimmin’ AUGUST, already – almost like we lost a couple of months there…Not gonna lie – the lockdown was not entirely unpleasant for us – a good chance to charge the batteries, and look at some things from a different perspective – working smarter rather than necessarily just harder. Fri, 31 Jul 2020 05:33:02 GMT http://slowboatrecords.co.nz/august-almost/ Slow Boat Records 2020-07-31T05:33:02Z -41.2944181 174.7752129 http://wps.wps.org.nz/2020-agm-notice/ Advance Notice of Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Wellington Photographic Society Inc The date of the AGM is set for 13 August 2020. Mon, 13 Jul 2020 04:44:31 GMT http://wps.wps.org.nz/2020-agm-notice/ Wellington Photographic Society 2020-07-13T04:44:31Z https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2020/07/13/short-passes-13-july-news-in-briefs/ Above: Johnsonville’s winning sprint team from Hurricanes Club Night at Wellington Stadium yesterday, evoking memories of former Hawks wing Guy Davenport-Brown’s club sprint win at Athletic Park in the late 1990s.  PHOTO: Peter McDonald.   Round four of 13 of Wellington Premier club rugby is in the can, with just Tawa and OBU left standing... Sun, 12 Jul 2020 21:45:36 GMT https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2020/07/13/short-passes-13-july-news-in-briefs/ Wellington Club Weekly 2020-07-12T21:45:36Z https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2020/07/mri-technology-wins-award In a collaboration between scientists and designers, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington researchers have developed new technology to make magnetic resonance imaging machines (MRIs) more comfortable, accessible, and affordable. Mon, 06 Jul 2020 03:28:53 GMT https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2020/07/mri-technology-wins-award Victoria University of Wellington 2020-07-06T03:28:53Z -41.28916835 174.76889632645998 http://www.whs.school.nz/weeklywrapup/weekly-wrap-up-week-12-term-2/ Important Dates Monday 20 July: Start of Term 3 Wednesday 22 July: Parents’ Evening (Senior Students) Monday 27 July: Parents’ Evening (Junior Students) Monday 27 July: Board of Trustees meeting 6pm Important Information Principal’s message In his end of term Principal’s message, Dominic reflects on the events of the past month including our recent open evening and music evening, events which, not so long ago we felt would be unable to take place. To read Dominic’s full report, click here. What’s happening? Open Evening and 2021 enrolment We welcomed over 400 families and whānau to our open evening last Monday on what was possibly the coldest night of the year. Our team of student and staff guides took tours around the campus, students were actively involved in promoting different areas of school life, and everywhere was alive and buzzing with activity. Enrolments are now open for 2021. Our enrolment process starts online at: https://portal.whs.school.nz/index.php/enrolment. If you have any questions, please email Jude Aspinall, our enrolment officer on jude.aspinall@whs.school.nz        Music Evening Our Music Evening on Wednesday 1 July gave students the opportunity to showcase their talents. With a range of big band, groups and solo items, pieces in a range of styles and genres, it was a fabulous evening compered, as always by music teacher Fritz Wollner. To view the photo gallery, click here. Instrumental and vocal lessons update If your Junior student is interested in taking instrumental / vocal lessons but has not yet enrolled, please download the form from the Student Hub and hand in or email the completed form to Fritz Wollner Lessons will be reorganised for Terms 3 and 4. If students have not been attending regularly, they need to see Mr Wollner as soon as possible to ensure they do not lose their spot. Tamatha Paul – lunchtime lecture The Feminist Club was delighted to welcome Wellington Councillor Tamatha Paul to deliver this Thursday’s lunchtime lecture. Tamatha (Ngāti Awa / Waikato Tainui) was first elected to Council in 2019 and is one of three Pukehīnau / Lambton Ward counsellors for 2019-2022. As an independent candidate, Tamatha campaigned on issues including zero waste, connecting communities and the importance of prioritising future facing leadership. As can be seen from these pictures, Tamatha’s visit attracted a large audience, keen to welcome and listen to her.         Year 10 Computing – Photoshop and political discourse Students in Gus Donaldson’s Year 10 computing course have been developing skills in Photoshop through working on a project on the theme of political discourse. Their work is currently on display in the foyer outside the library. The posters, with the narrative from their creators alongside them, are powerful pieces of work that clearly exemplify the students’ views and response to current issues in the world around them. The display will remain in place at the start of Term 3 and you are invited to come and view it.              WHS Ink – Junior Art club zine 30 Year 9 and 10 students have been working on their own artwork during each week’s WHS Ink sessions. Coordinated by Teacher Aide, Connor Morrison-Mills, this group of talented students’ work is now included in their very own zine. Click on the image below to see more. Outdoor Education’s snowy tramp It has been cold enough for many this week, with the storms and freezing winds around Wellington. The Outdoor Education students showed their mettle by heading out on a tramp in the Tararua range earlier this week. They made it as far as the Powell Hut before the weather conditions made it too risky to continue and they turned back.              Achievements He Kākano – AWD Tenpin Bowling On Thursday 2 July, He Kākano students competed in the annual AWD Tenpin Bowling competition against students from other Wellington colleges. All students and staff had a fantastic time and there were some really strong bowlers in the group. The top three WHS students were Talib Prime, Darius Ngature and Joshua Nathan.              Roxy5 finalists ‘En Passant Films’ and ‘Look Away’ are both WHS finalists in the Roxy5 film competition this year. Screenings will take place on Friday 31 July at the Mclaurin Theatre, Victoria University. The winner will be announced at the Red Carpet awards evening at the Roxy Cinema on Wednesday 5 August. We are waiting eagerly to to see whether The Work of An Artist (En Passant Films) or Hey Cassie (Look Away) will scoop a place. Pictured below are En Passant Films: Sam Quinn, Rory Maher, Nym Jones, Liv Calder, Sky Gobbi, Jack Whitehead, Namu Dahlberg and Ashton Gordon.   Open Evening: Business Studies Logo quiz winners Many thanks to all those students and whānau who entered the Logo quiz competition that ran at our recent open evening.  The answers were: Air NZ, Disney, The Warehouse, Starbucks, Wellington HS, Te Papa, The Heart Foundation, Wellington City Council and Netflix.  The winners were Toby, Tama, and Oscar. Sports Boys 1st XI Football On 27 June, our boys 1st XI football team beat Newlands College 4-0, taking them to the top of their pool. This Saturday the team will play St Patrick’s second team. If the team win or draw they will go into play-offs on 18 July against either Onslow College or Wellington College for a place in the Youth Premier Reserve. Good luck team!   Fri, 03 Jul 2020 02:57:51 GMT http://www.whs.school.nz/weeklywrapup/weekly-wrap-up-week-12-term-2/ Wellington High School 2020-07-03T02:57:51Z -41.3002065 174.77512646827947 http://wellington.govt.nz/your-council/news/2020/07/smarter-buildings Energy savings made in two central city buildings brings Wellington City Council a step closer to achieving its goal of becoming a Zero Carbon Capital by 2050. Thu, 02 Jul 2020 00:41:18 GMT http://wellington.govt.nz/your-council/news/2020/07/smarter-buildings Wellington City Council 2020-07-02T00:41:18Z https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2020/07/01/monica-tagoai-back-in-business/ By Adam Julian Monica Tagoai is back in business. On Saturday the Black Ferns centre and wing scored two tries for Marist St Pat’s in a 48-24 victory over Paremata-Plimmerton in the second round of the Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy. It’s only her second game back after fracturing her tibia and fibula in a pre-season match... Tue, 30 Jun 2020 19:32:31 GMT https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2020/07/01/monica-tagoai-back-in-business/ Wellington Club Weekly 2020-06-30T19:32:31Z https://www.wecc.org.nz/news-and-info/new-photography-competition-announced! Tue, 30 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.wecc.org.nz/news-and-info/new-photography-competition-announced! Wellington Employers' Chamber of Commerce 2020-06-30T00:00:00Z https://www.was.org.nz/2020/06/was-astrophotography-group-dark-sky-observing/ When: Saturday 18th July, 7 pm onwards. Mon, 29 Jun 2020 02:20:17 GMT https://www.was.org.nz/2020/06/was-astrophotography-group-dark-sky-observing/ Wellington Astronomical Society 2020-06-29T02:20:17Z https://talkwellington.org.nz/2020/plimmerton-farm-getting-greenfields-right/ If we’re hellbent on doing more residential development in greenfields, what does “decent” look like in Plimmerton, hilly land near an existing suburb – like most of our region’s greenfields? This post is basically a guide for anyone who cares about Plimmerton, good urban development, or healthy wetlands, streams and coast, but is time-poor and can’t face going through the truckloads of documents they’ve stuck up without any specific meta-guidance (some FAQ are here). Hopefully this will help you pop in a submission! PCC’s “information” pages they suggest you use for submitting. Every one of these is a large PDF document, 90% written in technical language… aargh! The background: what where and how For those who don’t know, Plimmerton Farm’s a big proposed subdivision of hilly farmland draining into the significant Taupō Wetland and to Plimmerton Beach, just over the train line and highway from Plimmerton village (original Ngāti Toa name: Taupō). It’s going through a Streamlined Planning Process, a pre-COVID government scheme for accelerating development. The key step is the requisite change of the land’s zoning in the Porirua District Plan (“rural” zone to “residential” and other “urban” zones) that sets out what kind of stuff can then be built, where. It’s mostly streamlined because there’s just one shot for the public to have input on the plan change. One shot. Why submit? I was born and raised in Plimmerton, live here now, and intend to for the rest of my days. I’d love to see it grow, well. I would love Plimmerton to get more wallets, more hearts and minds, more faces (more diverse ones too!). But not with more traffic, and pointless damage to our environment. Right now, the proposal has some serious flaws which need sorting. I say Sorting because the changes won’t make it crazy innovative, just good enough for a development in the spot it is, being kicked off in 2020. Time matters too: there’a a bunch of good things happening imminently (and some bad Porirua trends that need to be reversed). I cover these in Get it right, below. It’s worth submitting because given the situation, a 1990s-grade development just won’t cut it. So what about Plimmerton Farm needs to change? It boils down to two themes: dial down the driveability and dial up the liveabilitymake Local the logical and easy choice for daily needs I’ll outline what needs to change in each. NOTE: There’s a third – don’t stuff the wetlands and streams. This is really important as Taupō Wetland is regionally significant, and all our streams and harbours have suffered from frankly shameful mismanagement of sediment from earthworks-heavy subdivisions like Aotea and Duck Creek, and from the earthworks-a-rama of Transmission Gully. Friends of Taupo Swamp have an excellent submission guide for you – add in some of their suggested bits to your submission. I: Dial down the driveability, dial up the liveability There aren’t many truly black-and-white things in life, but there’s one for towns: If a street is nice to drive in, it’ll be a crappy place to do anything else in (walk / eat / hang out / have a conversation / play / scoot or cycle / shop / have a pint). If it’s nice to do anything else in, it’ll be a crappy place to drive in. Mostly this is because of the nature of the automobile: big solid things that smash into our soft bodies if someone makes a mistake (75% odds of death if that’s at 50km/hour, 10% odds of death if at 30km/hour) big objects that need lots of space for manoeuvering and especially parking – which offstreet can be crazy expensive and push up the cost of a home, and onstreet hoover up valuable public space. big solid things driven by us real humans (for a while at least) who respond to the environment but also get distracted, and generally aren’t good at wielding these big solid things safely. The transport setup proposed for Plimmerton Farm makes for a much too driveable and poorly liveable place. 1. Narrow down all the roads. The current proposal’s roading setup has roads and streets that are too big, and there’s too much of them. Right sized roads for a liveable community The cross-sections for the roads include on-street parking and really wide lane widths. This is really gobsmacking for a consortium that talked a big talk about good practice. For all the reasons that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are good, this is bad. (And it’s especially nuts when you realise that the excessively wide “arterial” roads (11 metres!) will need earthworked platforms built for them where they’re drawn running up the sharp ridges and across the tops of gullies. Expensive, damaging for the environment, and … what were they thinking?) So recommended changes: NARROW DOWN THE ROADS. Seriously. Design all the living-area streets and roads, and the centre, to be self-explaining for an operating traffic speed of 30km or less – that’s the speed where mistakes are rarely fatal. What does that look like? The designers will know and if they don’t they should be fired. Narrower crossing distances; chicanes (great way to incorporate green infrastructure and trees and seating!); narrowed sight-lines (trees! sculpture!) so no-one driving feels inclined to zoom. Reduced trafficked lanes (rori iti on the larger roads!), with properly wide and friendly footpaths. Threshold treatments, humps, modal filters, all the things we know very well are the natural ways to slow us down when driving, and make streets nicer for people. The beauty of all this “restriction” on driving is how much it frees us up for making everything else appealing. Streets become hospitable for kids to walk, scoot, bike to school safely, using the road not the footpath. Older people and those with impairments can walk and wheelchair safely. Teens coming home from town of an evening can scoot or bike home, safely. Popping down to the shops or for a coffee or to the train becomes a pleasure to do on foot, or on a scooter or bike. And you’re moving in a legitimate way – seeing and being seen, not stuck off in the bush on a “recreational” track like what they’ve described. The ordinary streets and roads are walkable, bikeable, scootable, mobility-scootable, and perfectly driveable, equally safe and useable in all weathers and anytime of day or night. Used to be a big, fast road. Now, kids bike to school and old people can chill out on it. (Mark Kerrison) (And in case you’re worried about firetrucks / rubbish trucks / buses, recall that on even Wellington City’s far more winding, narrower hilly streets everyone gets their rubbish collected and fires fought just fine. On public transport, smaller buses, like those that community transport operators use, are the way of the future for less densely-populated areas like this). Don’t build the through and loop roads. You don’t need signs like this when the only people who bother to drive in are those who live there, or who are visiting friends, because you just have to drive out again the way you came. When it’s the place you live, you’re invested in not being a dick far more than if you’re just out for a drive – or worse, out for a bit of a boyrace hoon on a massive loop route through a whole place. So just don’t build those big connector roads that enable people to drive easily from one residential area to the next, especially the ones up in the hilltops (section C) that just say “come for a hoon!” Instead, connect the living spaces heavily with bikeable, walkable, scootable, disability-friendly streets and lanes, and as much as possible, only one way in and out for cars from each living area. II: Make local logical and easy Plimmerton is a true village, with a great little centre (including a train station!) but Plimmerton Farm is ultimately a damn big area. The way to go is to enable people to get the basics of life – like school, groceries, a coffee – with a little local trip on foot, bike or scooter – it’s more of a bother to get in the car. Right now though, it needs two changes: 1. Provide for a second centre “Bumping into” spaces are known to be crucial to a feeling of neighbourhood, and in the (initial) absence of third places (worship places, community hall, sports club, cafe/pub, a supermarket is a vital social centre. Yet the north end of Plimmerton Farm is currently a deadzone for anything except residential. What things will probably look like under current layout. Like in Edwards Scissorhands without the interest of a castle. There’s no provision for a place to do your household groceries, so people will drive to Mana New World – more car trips – and less opportunity to bump into people who live nearby. (There’ll be no school in Plimmerton Farm for a while, because Ministry of Education isn’t allowed by the Education Act to build a school somewhere until there’s a certain population density of kids to fill it. A shitty Catch-22 for developments which is hopefully going to be fixed … sometime. Just another reason to make walking, biking and scooting really kid-friendly, as extra dropoff traffic for kids going to St Theresa’s, Plimmerton School, Paremata and Pukerua Bay schools will be a nightmare.) So they should provide for an additional centre in the north, including a groceries place of some kind. 2. Intensify within walking distance of Plimmerton proper. We should intensify properly, with lots of medium and even some high density (6 storeys of nicely laid-out density done well!) in the area that’s within a 5-minute walk of Plimmerton Village. The more people can live and work with access to all its many amenities, and its rail station (10 min to Porirua, 30 min to Wellington), the better. But there’s not enough density provided for there. Plimmerton Railway station: buzzing in 1916 and has only got bigger. (Photo: Pātaka Porirua Museum) So they should add another zone – E – of higher density in that 5-minute walking catchment of Plimmerton Village. What could it look like? A good example is 3333 Main, Vancouver . Submission tips On the site they ask you to fill in a Word or PDF form, saying which specific bit of the gazillion proposals you are talking about and the specific changes you want. This is a BS way to treat the vast majority of people submitting: normal non-professionals, just regular people who care about good development and liveable places. So just don’t worry about that. In those question 6 column boxes just put “Transport” and “Layout”. It’s the professional planners’ job to figure out specifically how to change a planning document. Just be specific enough that they know what you want to see. The text above is worth copying and pasting – it’ll be enough. And don’t forget the Friends of Taupo Swamp and Catchment advice is essential – definitely go read and use. That’s all you really need – just go submit! But if you’re keen to know more reasons why they should be doing this better, here’s some… Get it right, now Once this plan change is through, traditional developers like Gillies like to whack in all the infrastructure – hello, massive earthworks. And yet the place will take decades to fill with actual people – those hearts and minds and wallets. (Note even before COVID, Porirua’s growth rate was 0.1% per year. Yep, one tenth of one percent.) And extra pressure’s on to do this better because all these things are features of the next one to three years: the One Network Road Classification (sets the design specs for roads of different types) is being updated right now to be more people-friendly in the specs for roads in residential and centre areas, so designs like Plimmerton Farm’s will soon be Officially Bad Practice Sales and riding of e-bikes and e-scooters are going through the roof, continuing through and beyond COVID – this shows no signs of slowing, and prices are dropping. E-power flattens the hills of Plimmerton Farm and makes wheely active travel a breeze for the middle-class people who’ll be living here, if the streets and roads are hospitablePlimmerton Railway Station (on the most popular Wellington train line) is being upgraded to be a terminus station – i.e. better servicesThe Wellington Regional Growth Framework is setting a bunch of directions for councils on how to grow well, including well-known but often well-ignored issues like intensifying around public transport hubs Councils will soon be required to do to a bunch of a bunch of international good practice including get rid of many minimum parking requirements (in the news lately), and to upzone (enable intensification) of landuse in the walking catchment of public transport hubs. (5 min walk = approx 400 metres, 10 min = 800m).Bad trends we need to stop: Porirua’s really high car-dependency (we own cars a lot and drive a lot) is continuing, due to car-dependent urban form [PDF]– despite nice words in council’s strategic intentions.People living outside Wellington City are mostly to blame for our region’s 14% increase in emissions from transport in just 10 years. OK go submit now – and share with anyone who you think might care! Sun, 28 Jun 2020 04:30:00 GMT https://talkwellington.org.nz/2020/plimmerton-farm-getting-greenfields-right/ Talk Wellington 2020-06-28T04:30:00Z