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Changes in national government water policy have prompted a funding shift in Kaipara that will benefit water projects, but stall progress on proposed community hubs and libraries in Mangawhai and Dargaville.
Kaipara District Council (KDC) has reallocated more than $3.2 million of external funding to the district’s water infrastructure budget. The move came after Local Government Minister Simeon Brown directed councils to move uncommitted externally-funded Better Off and Transition Support funds towards water infrastructure, supporting the government’s Local Water Done Well (LWDW) initiative.
KDC said $500,000 was being set aside from the external funding to support transition to the LWDW delivery model, and just over $3.2 million was being redirected to waters projects across Kaipara district.
The Maungaturoto treatment plant upgrade will receive $1.6 million, $600,000 will go towards renewing water systems across the district, and a further $248,500 towards renewing wastewater systems, also district-wide.
The remaining $800,000 will be allocated to the design, consent and construction of a subsurface irrigation system at the Mangawhai Golf Course, part of the effort to ensure Mangawhai’s wastewater system can cope with envisaged growth (see story p34).
Mayor Craig Jepson said he was pleased that the funding could go towards essential waters projects, and lessen the impact on residents’ water bills.
The redirection of the funding to water projects comes at a cost, however. Although council has already consulted on the two proposed community hubs, it will no longer be able to achieve consenting and initial site works.
However, it will be able to carry out further community engagement, conceptual designs and land feasibility studies for the hubs, using $404,000 of Better Off funding that it had previously approved.
KDC said it was looking to fund the building of a Mangawhai community hub using future development contributions and debt. It was looking into establishing a trust to help support the building of a hub in Dargaville.
In Mangawhai, the Mangawhai Community Park on Molesworth Drive had been under consideration as a location for a future hub. In Dargaville, council already owns land for a hub site, on Hokianga Road.
In both cases the proposal had envisaged the inclusion of a library, digital facilities, meeting rooms and a multi-purpose space for activities and events.
At a June 5 meeting, where council’s long-term plan for 2024-2027 was discussed, Jepson expressed frustration that council time and money had been spent on developing community hub proposals.
“This council has spent considerable resources and time being led from one scenario to the next,” he said. “Both communities [Mangawhai and Dargaville] actually were given options of hubs and libraries and both communities will no longer have the option through this funding.”
Jepson said the Department of Internal Affairs had “once again made us change our focus”, although he added that council had “wisely” reallocated the money to projects that it could complete. He added that the decisions taken on funding water infrastructure would reduce the rates burden by one per cent, “which is a good thing”.
