Council meetings – February 2022
19 January 2022
| Meeting | Date | Time |
| Capital Projects and Tenders Committee | Tuesday, 1 February | 3.00 pm |
| Audit and Risk Committee | Thursday, 17 February | 1.00pm |
| Council | Thursday, 24 February | 1.00pm |
Council News – January 2022
19 January 2022
Digital membership at Westland District Library
19 January 2022
No time to get into the library and still want access to a great range of books, newspapers and magazines? You should sign up for a Digital Only membership at the library. This gives you access to the library’s full range of e-books and audiobooks, e-magazines, e-newspapers and electronic subscription databases.
It’s easy to sign up by completing the form on the library’s website. Complete the form and you’re ready to start borrowing.
Join in the Summer Reading Club fun
19 January 2022
As part of the library’s holiday reading challenge this year we are running some fun activities for the whole whānau to get involved in. You don’t have to be participating in the Summer Reading club to join in our activities, but it is super easy to take part using Beanstack and we have some great prizes on offer too, so why not? Go to the website or download Beanstack from your app store to get started.
| Friday 28 January, 11.00 – 12.00 am | Creative writing workshop – 13-17 years | Unveil your emotions through three fun writing activities. Online meeting via Zoom. Registration is essential as places are limited, please email library@westlib.co.nz or call 03 755608 and we will send you the meeting details. |
| Anytime: | Read and Draw – 4-10 years | Read a book of your choice and draw your favourite character from the story. Post or drop off your art (or send us a photo) if you would like it displayed in the library. |
| Read and Write – all ages | Choose a Wordless Wonders picture book and write a story to go with the pictures. Kids, you can have an adult or older sibling write the story down for you. If you would like to email or drop your story into the library we would love to read them and put them on display. | |
| Online Storytime – all ages | Take a look at this wonderful playlist of stories from the UK children’s reading charity, BookTrust and choose one (or many) to enjoy. |
Photo by Westland Library – Evelyn, spot prize winner for being the first person in the Summer Reading Club to start a challenge.
Council staff join Aotearoa Bike Challenge for the sixth year
19 January 2022
A small but dedicated group of staff challenge themselves to clock up the kilometres from 1 – 28 February each year by participating in the Aotearoa Bike Challenge, joining over 16,000 other New Zealanders. Since 2017 the team has officially recorded 1760km of cycling, including 389km in 2021. Participating in the challenge means that the group use their cars less and increases their fitness as they work towards beating the previous year’s total distance.
Teams all around New Zealand take part, with 5,415 workplaces registered since the event began, and involving over 84,000 people who have ridden over 4.39 million kilometres, saving almost 3 million kilos in carbon.
Anyone in NZ can take part, either as an individual or through your workplace or with a club. Each category is eligible for prizes. Any rides that you log on to the website contribute to points on the leader board. You can sign up here and take the opportunity to enjoy the fine weather, explore the West Coast Wilderness Trails and other parts of Westland on your bike and be kind to the environment.
Work moves onto the exterior of the Carnegie Building
19 January 2022
With the main internal structural work on the Carnegie Building complete, the focus of the project now moves to the exterior of the building.
Scaffolding is now in place, and the first step in the process is to clean the building with a low-pressure washdown, which will remove dirt, mould and moss that has built up over the years. Once clean, contractors will secure any loose brickwork around the building and fix areas of plasterwork that have separated from the bricks. A crucial part of the work will be to replace the building’s leaky coated polystyrene replica parapets with new framing and plasterwork, ensuring weather tightness and improving climate control in the building. Broken window glazing will also be replaced, and the window frames repainted while the scaffolding is up.
Photo by Hokitika Museum
Exposure Draft of the Te Tai o Poutini Plan
19 January 2022
The Exposure Draft Te Tai o Poutini Plan will be launched to the public on Wednesday 26 January giving everyone on the West Coast their first opportunity to see what the combined District Plan will look like. The combined plan will replace the individual District Plans for Buller, Grey District and Westland, and create consistency across the districts.
From 26 January – 11 March the Te Tai o Poutini Plan Committee will be seeking feedback from the community to incorporate into the final Proposed Plan. This is the next step in shaping the Council’s rulebook for building and development in each of the three West Coast Districts. This is not a formal submission process and as such there will be no hearing at this time. Hearings will form part of the Proposed Plan consultation stage.
Printed copies of the Exposure Draft plan will be available throughout Westland at Westland District Council, Hokitika Library, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier Community Halls, Haast On the Spot, Arahura Marae, Mahi Tahi/Bruce Bay Te Tauraka Waka a Maui Marae, and Donvan’s Store, Okarito.
Find out more about drop-in sessions and how to have your say from 26 January on the Te Tai o Poutini Plan website.
