A regional facility would cater to residential and commercial organic waste from around the region. (File photo)
The three district councils of Taranaki are planning to build a regional composting facility to stop food scraps being trucked out of the region. New Plymouth is the only district council that currently collects and disposes of food waste, but it is having to truck it 300 kilometres north to Hampton Downs. This is because the Remediation New Zealand-run facility in Uruti that the council planned to use when it launched food scrap recycling in September 2019 does not have resource consents. The company has applied for consent renewal and is expecting a decision later in the month.
Public housing tenancies remained at 38 in that time, with the number of emergency housing grants rising from 10 to 35 – a jump from $8440 to $36,626. At council’s policy and services committee meeting on Tuesday, Volzke said a rate payer who owned his own home freehold had got in touch as the property was not in the best shape. “He is convinced it will blow over this coming winter,” Volzke said. The man told Volzke he could sell his property for about $150,000 and it could be developed into three units.
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Stratford Mayor Neil Volzke shared an elderly man’s story with councillors, asking they consider reevaluating their pensioner housing policy. (File photo)
Chirssy Darth, co-owner of Brian Darth Funeral Services, described that as quite an increase and said the costs would be “significant for low-income families”. Volzke said he was not disagreeing, but explained how this was an effort to save water, with the hope that peole would be more conservative. The mayor said it would be similar to a power line charge, with a cost on top. Lovey Read, of the marae, said she was also concerned about the cost that would fall on them as they often hold hui (meetings) and other events with large numbers of people. Councillor Jono Erwood asked the mayor if the marae could apply for a rates remission.
In the last 12 months, New Plymouth and South Taranaki district councils, and the Taranaki Regional Council, have all voted for Māori representation. One of the country’s smallest districts with a population of just under 10,000, of whom 14 per cent identify as Māori, councillors had the opportunity to green light the establishment of a Māori ward in Stratford in August last year. But they unanimously voted against it, opting to begin the process in 2024, so they had time to consult with their community.
Simon O Connor/Stuff
Stratford deputy mayor Alan Jamieson said what happened to Judd in New Plymouth had worried councillors when they made their first ward decision last year. (File photo)
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