Whakatāne District Council is making strides in delivering community-focused projects thanks to funds from the Department of Internal Affairs Better Off Funding.
The funding allocation of $5.66 million was received in December 2022, with the total amount invested as of 31 January 2025 reaching $3.3 million. These funds have helped the Council fast-track key projects that benefit the community.
At today’s (6 March) Living Together Committee meeting, General Manager Strategy and Transformation, Dr Leny Woolsey, provided an update on the seven Better Off Funding projects.
“We’re happy to report that work on the projects continues to progress, with three of the seven projects having reached their completion milestones.” said Dr Woolsey.
“After some initial delays, which meant the extension to completion dates for a few of the projects, we are now tracking well,” said Dr Woolsey. A detailed update on each project follows.
The Natural Hazard Resilience project aims to build greater community resilience to natural disasters. The project included funding to upgrade Waimana-Nukuhou North Memorial Hall and Te Teko War Memorial Hall, which were completed in 2023 and 2024.
“Another element of this project is the development of a communications trailer, being undertaken by the Emergency Management team. The trailer will allow for quick deployment of technology, ensuring communication solutions are available in isolated locations during a disaster,” Explains Dr Woolsey.
Work continues to progress on the Edgecumbe to Thornton trail with sections one and four now complete. Section one saw the upgrade of the existing Rangitāiki River Walkway completed in December 2024.
“The recent upgrade has improved accessibility and the community response has been really positive. Dr Woolsey noted.
“We’ve received great feedback about how usable this track is now. The old track was grass, making it difficult to navigate bikes and prams. Now we’ve laid down a crushed metal trail, making it much more usable for more people.”
Work on sections two and three is delayed while discussions continue with private landowners.
“We’re hopeful we can come to a mutual resolution with landowners. However, we may need to consider rerouting this section along the roadside.”
The Collective Iwi Policy Hub’s primary use of funds is to support and strengthen relationships between the Council and four iwi in the Whakatāne District. The project has recently added additional technical expertise to support the programme manager. Engagement work continues with iwi and hāpu on future aspirations to incorporate into the draft Our Places - Eastern Bay Spatial Plan. Once complete, the focus will shift to the implementation phase of the spatial plan, climate change adaptation, and local water management practices.
Following iwi and community engagement on master plans for Minginui and Murupara, the Southern Districts Towns Regeneration project is now entering the development phase. An architect is designing visual concepts, which will be shared with the Minginui and Murupara communities during the next six months.
“Ensuring these plans reflect the community’s aspirations is a priority. Once the draft plans are ready, we will hold a final round of engagement to gather feedback from Minginui and Murupara residents," Dr Woolsey said.
Dr Woolsey noted the completion of He Waka Hono Hapori Community Connections and Outreach project.
“We have two vans ready to service our more remote communities. These vans will act like mobile hubs of engagement, allowing our communities to access some council services, such as library borrowing.”
Work is underway on the schedules for where and when the vans will visit communities.
Two other completed projects are the Acceleration of the Our Places - Eastern Bay Plenty Spatial Plan and the CCTV upgrade.
“While the CCTV upgrade is complete, Council will use the remaining funds to install a radio system, enabling the monitoring team to communicate directly with the police.”