After new councillors spent post-election time discovering the mysteries of local government, the Council is now gearing up, with exciting work planned.
Hopefully, my pre-Christmas announcement that we will now issue consents for new builds (albeit with the condition that they can’t connect to the drainage system until the wastewater plant is progressed) was good news for both tradies and property owners.
One piece of tangible progress is that an RFP is out for upgrade work on the wastewater plant. We’re also looking forward to announcing the next instalment of good news on this whole issue shortly – but I emphasise that it’s “one step at a time” to fix many years of no decisions.
But wait there’s more! At our February meeting Council will tick off the formation of the Rural and Coastal Advisory Group, so if this impacts on you, please think about who might be useful and get ready for expressions of interest.
We’re also working on another group, with a shorter lifespan but nonetheless important. There’ve been years of public comment about roading issues such as where SH53 should end, where the heavy traffic bypass should be and how to manage the interface between ordinary traffic and visitors biking round wineries. Also, we’ve had attempts to re-vitalise the Square and create a more vibrant town centre, with safe shared spaces.
Soon we’ll be seeking people for a reference group of residents to work on these issues for a few months and recommend innovative solutions that can be cemented into long term planning, then delivered over time. Again, we’ll be looking for people with local knowledge and lived experience, as well as expertise in a number of areas – and of course an interest in contributing to Martinborough’s future.
