Mangawhai Community Planning Group ( a subcommittee of Mangawhai Ratepayers and Residents' Association Inc )
If you're interested in re-establishing this group, please get in touch with us here at mangawhailongterm@gmail.com or give
Alan Preston a call on 02102377242 . August 2020
This website was created back in 20160807 - and was last updated on 20200824 - and moved from Google's Classic Sites platform to the NEW google sites platform adding and re-arranging layout.
Our committee is currently inactive but may be re-engaging soon.
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Kia ora katou.
To Kaipara District Council Mayor
Kia ora Jason,-
Sadly, I am writing to inform you that the Mangawhai Community Planning Group, initiated two years ago as a sub-committee of the Mangawhai Residents and Ratepayers' Association, has decided to go into an indeterminate period of recess.
Apart from myself, there was diminishing confidence among our members that we have any chance of influencing decisions made by the Kaipara District Council and its administration.
from Christian Simon . May 2018
Seems like we're not alone in our feeling of frustration with our Council's perfunctory and dismissive attitude towards an inclusive consultation process....
Here's a video of Megan Rose using her 5 minutes to express to the Hawkes Bay Regional Council her dismay and resignation.
At our 2017 AGM, held on the 1st of March 2017 we elected : ( Chairperson ) Martina Tschirky
( Secretary ) Alan Preston
( Executive Committee) Martina Tschirky, Christian Simon, Ulla Bode , Ashley Wood, James Andrews.
Our next meeting will be from 7p.m. on the 28th of March 2018 ( first Wednesday of every month ) at the Mangawhai Fishing Club near the boat ramp in Alamar Crescent.
Please feel free to get in touch with us by email ( mangawhailongterm@gmail.com ) or phone ( see the contacts tab above )
Join our group on Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/1180986941996696/
On this web-site we have listed preliminary suggestions dealing with various aspects of the long term future of our community and area.
We would like to get your input and invite you to copy and paste your own suggestions from these pages
Please use the following protocols : underline in red the parts you are not in agreement with.
write in green that which you'd like to add.
and send them back to us at : managawhailongterm@gmail.com
( Last updated 7th of December 2016 )
Preamble
Situation
Mangawhai is a magical place to live in.
For the last 50 years Mangawhai has been a remote, rural, seaside, holiday village.
It is becoming a Super City Suburb surrounded by life style properties.
The Kaipara District Council has made efforts to cope with this growth with some infrastructure projects.
This infrastructure projects already established or on the way are outmoded and expensive, feeding only old fashioned monopoly corporates and have created a huge debt for the whole District.
These projects have been put in place with little or no consultation with the community.
The Council has ignored the feedback from the community.
Community interest needs to be taken into account.
The Community is united in wishing to safeguard the unique identity of Mangawhai and is aware of the risk of developing our village into another boring Auckland Suburb.
Preserving the unique identity can only be done by the people with the people and for the people of the village.
We need to discuss a long term proposal with the Mangawhai Community.
Let’s start to discuss the destiny of Magical Mangawhai!
This is a starting point.
Contents
A Building and Land Use regulations
Existing situation and principles for further development
Mangawhai Village
Mangawhai Heads
Mangawhai Estuary Estate
Mangawhai Surrounding Areas
B Traffic
Existing situation and principles for further development
Footpaths / Bicycle Tracks
Public Transport
Roads / Parking Places
Walkways
C Education / Culture / Sport
Existing situation and principles for further development
High School
Job Training Centre, business support
Community education
D Water Use
Existing situation and principles for further development
Water Supply
Waste Water
Storm Water
E Environmental protection
Existing situation and principles for further development
Harbour and beaches
Flora and fauna
Pollution control – recycling; GE free; light pollution
F Social Services
Existing situation and principles for further development
Medical services
Emergency services
Mental health services
Family support
A Building and Land Use regulations
Existing situation and principles for further development
Mangawhai is divided into 4 parts: Mangawhai Village, Mangawhai Heads, the future development of Mangawhai Estuary Estate.
The 4th part comprises sections around Mangawhai such as small farming and life style blocks.
Each needs to be seen differently.
The history of the Village and the Heads needs to be respected.
The existing density and the height of buildings should not be extended.
No further subdivisions shall be allowed, but alterations and further buildings for the family shall be allowed.
Minimum section size to be 400sq.m.
The Estuary estate may have a different structure, with greater density, higher buildings. The Estuary Estate is the right place for a high school.
The small farming and life style blocks present both a risk and an opportunity.
There is the risk of the lack of understanding about the effects of agriculture on the environment, such as: the overuse of fertilizer and pesticides, no water management, land erosion, and possible unsuitable conditions for farm animals.
On the other hand it is possible to develop holistic mixed farming to supply Mangawhai with healthy fresh food. This would involve stabilising and growing top soil; using organic fertilizer to transform so called waste like grass clippings and human urine to build top soil and keep water clean.
Knowledge exchange is the tool to avoid destruction and support holistic farm development.
Public areas, wetlands, Queen’s Chain have to be preserved
Every attempt to block to public access is an offence and should be penalised.
See also E – Environmental protection.
B Traffic
Existing situation and principles for further development
The increasing traffic with not enough parking places makes life stressful. But more parking spaces alone will in the long term not resolve this problem. Designing roads and parking as a priority results in pedestrians being catered for as an afterthought. International experience shows that only when we look first to pedestrians and cyclists can we cope with this traffic growth.
“5 km/h design” is a pattern of modern town planning and guides us to look first with the eyes of a pedestrian or a child when designing our neighbourhood, prioritising footpaths and cycle ways.
Plans need to be made for traffic to bypass the dangerous Moir St/ Insley St intersection.
Public Transport
There is not enough demand for a regular bus-service. But a so called “On Call Mini Bus” could be a solution. An “On Call Mini Bus”, such as the existing business called “ Buzz Me”. is a combination of a public bus and a private taxi. With general basic support such a mini bus could pick up several people and be run at an affordable price.
Roads and Parking
With roundabouts and shared roads ( cars, pedestrians, cyclists ) speed can be slowed down but still progress without hold-ups.
Parking in detail
Attached is a map with of the pedestrian and bicycle ways to connect heads and village, Cove Road and Gumdigger Lane
Attached is a map to show needed traffic improvements.
C Education / Culture / Sport
Existing situation and principles for further development
High School
Job Training Centre, business support
Community education
High School: Land should be set aside in the Estuary estates development for a possible future high school.
Jobs: Let’s develop jobs in town:
Over the next decade a lot of building work will be done in Mangawhai. Today most building companies come from Auckland and only a few young Mangawhai people are involved in this business.
Let us motivate the existing Mangawhai companies – architects, town planners, builders, plumbers, landscapers - to transfer knowledge to younger people by holding training weeks for older school students
The same could be done for the small organic farming units; it should not be the sole preserve of foreign Woofers.
A holistic view on waste water treatment would offer another bunch of jobs.
Community Education: A register of existing Community education classes should be set up with the aim of co-ordinating and further developing community education.
D Water Use
Existing situation and principles for further development
Water Supply
Currently only a few sections are connected to the town water supply.
No mandatory connection to town water. Preserving the low density in the Village and at the Heads means a town water supply is not needed. ( see under A)
In any case town water has to be funded by targeted rates!!
Waste Water
The Mangawhai Waste water Scheme (MWWS) in an outmoded “One pipe fit all” waste water system that will need endless additions without any chance of getting the pollution fixed.
Modern waste water systems consider that urine and feaces belong to the nutrient loop and not the water loop.
Grey-water separation can be done immediately for many sections and need only a subsidy to motivate people to do so and use it On Site.
A further urine – separation will come when we consider the value of urine for chemical purposes or as fertilizer. Proven technology is already available!
Waste Water Treatment has to be funded by targeted rates.
On Site Systems can work better than a centralized treatment plant. Council regulations for the irrigation area need to be adjusted to modern systems.
E Environmental protection
Existing situation and principles for further development
Harbour and beaches
Ensure public access is maintained; no further incursions of subdivisions into the estuary reserve to be allowed; develop a walkway around the harbour.
Flora and Fauna
The unique bird-life of Mangawhai needs ongoing protection through education, signage, dog and cat control. Encourage and support predator control programmes.
Is a total ban on all dogs on Mangawhai beach feasible ?
Encourage and support riparian planting
Pollution control
Recycling: The transfer station at Hakaru to have more recycling facilities.
GE free status of the district to be maintained.
Light pollution:The stars at night are part of Mangawhai’s magic. With more and more people and more and more streetlights burning all night this will be destroyed. But the lights don’t need to burn all night. Targeted lights that illuminate trees and houses are better than illuminating the night sky.
Less is more and would save us money.
F Social Services
Existing situation and principles for further development
Medical services
Emergency services
Mental health services
Family support
General Comments
A population cap of 5,000 residents
Noise control – no chainsawing or lawnmowing before 10am Sunday.
Total ban on future subdivisions
Preference for hand mowers (preferably electric) rather than ride-ons.
Subsidies on fencing for sheep
August 2016