Whakatāne District Council is undertaking a pilot scheme that will see 1,000 of its physical property files digitised by May.

A new and larger pumping main taking wastewater from the western end of Ōhope to the community’s oxidation ponds on Wainui Road is to be installed progressively over the next five months.

Nominations closed at noon today for the Whakatāne District Council Tāneatua Community Board by-election, following insufficient nominations at the recent triennial elections held on 8 October 2016. A by-election is being held for the Tāneatua Community Board (one vacancy) on 17 February 2017.

KiwiRail, in consultation with the NZ Transport Agency and Whakatane District Council, has made the decision to temporarily close two informal pedestrian railway crossings along the Matata Straights.

The crossing points have been used for pedestrian and/or vehicle access to the beach area, but safety concerns for users have forced their closure.

The Whakatāne District Council has received eight expressions of interest from commercial entities interested in developing its property at 77 Bunyan Road. The 40-hectare 'Piripai Block' was placed on the market on 31 October, with interested parties asked to submit expressions of interest by 6 December. The submissions have since been evaluated against the Council’s preferred development outcomes and most of the submitters will be interviewed in early-February before the proposals are shortlisted for further consideration.

The Whakatāne District Council has approved the additional funding required to allow the redevelopment of the Whakatāne Museum and Research Centre to proceed in early-2017.

Wild weather failed to stop entrants from turning in some award-winning dishes at the Local Wild Food Challenge last weekend. Nearly 30 competitors vied for top honours at Mataatua on Saturday, and Julie Allerby, Marketing Coordinator at Whakatāne District Council, says that despite the rain the event was a great day out for all involved.

Funding for a collaborative project to define the sort of the communities people want to be living in 15-20 years into the future has been approved by the Whakatāne District Council’s Policy Committee.

Whakatāne is officially ‘Motorhome-Friendly’ following a ceremony at the Whakatāne District Council today.