Puketapu-Bell Block Community Board Term Review

Adrian Sole – The Chairperson of our board reflects on the last 3 years.

It has been a privilege to lead the first Puketapu-Bell Block Community Board, working alongside a great team of fellow board members, our elected councillor and council officers. We also created our first community board plan through extensive community engagement.

As the Puketapu-Bell Block area has significant Māori cultural history, we also formed a strong working relationship with Puketapu Hapu, led by Peter Moeahu and now Kelly Moeahu. One founded on mutual trust and a shared common goal of working collaboratively for the collective benefit of our community.

That community board plan enabled the board to advocate and lobby for critical investment in roads and infrastructure, influencing the council’s Long-Term Plan (LTP) and any NZTA funding streams. We had some great wins, as highlighted below. But there is more that we need to do to balance decades of unintentional underinvestment in the fastest-growing community in the New Plymouth District!

WINS FOR THE COMMUNITY

*Highlighting that the critical Parklands Road to Airport Drive Road extension needs to be NPDC-built and costs recovered, as the community can’t wait for developers to invest in the road/bridge infrastructure in time for the ability to access the critical DeHavilland/Airport Drive State Highway Roundabout in 2026/27. This is happening.

*Nugent Street Pedestrian Crossing on Nugent Street, this safety improvement now means the most vulnerable can cross that busy street safely. It has also reduced the overall speed on the road as a secondary benefit.

*Changed the Bell Block Court parking times to be more suitable for the increased mixed usage.

*The installation of two high-powered CCTV cameras in Bell Block Court, monitored by the NZ Police Crimewatch team, has already had a positive impact.

*Improved the vehicle safety access at the Summerset Village entrance/exit.

*Successfully changed the Coastal Reserves Management Act to enable temporary food merchants to operate at the Bell Block Beach, starting from this summer period.

*Start up a volunteer group to enhance our walkways with clean-ups and improvements.

*Renaming Area-Q to Puketapu (New residential land developments from Wills Road to Airport Drive).

*Advocated for a disabled toilet installation in the current beach toilet block.

ONGOING ADVOCACY

Roading & Footpaths

*Off-ramp installation for the northbound state highway traffic to Pohutukawa Place, taking some of the load off the overbridge/Bell Block Court.

*Connecting Parklands Road to Pohutukawa Place is to be built sooner rather than later.

*Traffic Lights (Signalisation) for the overbridge in conjunction with removing the Bell Block Court Roundabout and signalisation on that intersection. Improve safety for vehicles and pedestrians.

*Install more footpaths on Wills Road and Pohutukawa Place.

*Signalisation of Egmont Road across SH 3 is required so our community can get to services like the new Medical Centre without driving.

Infrastructure or Wellbeing

*Build a new Library/Public Toilets/Co-Working/Meeting Room, etc, facility ideally located around Bell Block Court.

*Year-round Beach Access – we need to replace the unfit current boat ramp and replace it with one that enables the community and visitors, regardless of mobility, to access the beach.

*Enhance the parking and facilities at Fred Tucker Memorial Hall.

*Relocate the current Caltex Truck Stop from Bell Block Court to the industrial area.

We also listen to the community on how and where they want to spend their yearly discretionary fund, at our regular board meetings or at events.

COMMUNITY PROJECTS COMPLETED or UNDERWAY

*Two new Water Stations at Bell Block Court and the beach. Upgraded the existing station at Hickford Park.

*New BBQ facility at Bell Block Beach, with two accessible BBQs, covered seating and lights.

*Installing toilet lights and a streetlight at the beach to improve security and use.

*Installation of the Community Citrus Orchard at Gardina Ave.

*Improved access, seating, shading and playground facilities at Gardenia Ave.

*New fitness activity station at Hickford Park (in progress)

COMMUNITY PROPOSED PROJECTS

*Second BBQ facility at Hickford Park, with two accessible BBQs, covered seating and lighting co-located beside the soon-to-be-installed Activity Station.

*Mural on the beach toilet block, by a local artist with a flora and fauna theme.

*Replacing the tired post and railing system at the beach with a modern, sustainable, and long-lasting solution with integrated seating where needed.

BELL BLOCK SPATIAL PLAN – OUR SAVOUR

Unfortunately, Bell Block has been built and designed by developers who used the previous poorly written District Plan to their advantage (though this has been resolved with the new District Plan’s tighter requirements for future developments) This has created a fragmented, poorly planned and laid out community, with not a thought about where we need our shopping centres and services to be or balancing the needs of a fast-growing community.

This is compounded by being split by SH 3 (severance is the technical term for this), so inherited problems still exist and are causing the community heartache as we try to accommodate another 3000 + residents over the next 7 – 10 years!

This leads me to our biggest win this triennium. The recognition from the council that Bell Block needs to have a Spatial Plan! And what is a Spatial Plan, I hear you ask? Well, the best way to describe it is a very visual representation/vision of what our community will likely look like in 30 years, taking into consideration many touch points, and of course, population and commercial growth, roading and infrastructure, climate, and environment, lifestyles, Iwi and the many other cultures, and so much more!

We can then use this Spatial Plan, even though it is non-statutory, to help shape much-needed LTP and NZTA planning and investment, leveraging its extensive data collection/analysis, community engagement and providing validated evidence. along with our board’s constant lobbying for these investments to be made faster. Timing, to be delivered mid next year, so it can be used to shape next year’s LTP.

So, watch this space, you will see the Spatial Plan team reach out to start the consultation across sectors, industries, stakeholders and of course, the community to understand your needs so we can capture this feedback to shape the plan.

IT WAS A TEAM EFFORT

A huge thank you to my amazing, creative, supportive and hardworking board of Mike Baker (Deputy Chairperson), Kim Sowman, Tane Webster, and, of course, Cr Murray Chong, for his advice. I also want to acknowledge the early loss of Grant Knuckey in 2023. I was looking forward to learning from Grant, but sadly taken too early, and Grant didn’t see all the positive impact the board has had on the Puketapu-Bell Block community.

Behind the scenes is the engine that powers all the council meetings, and that is the NPDC governance team, led by Julie Straka, and the current governance expert adviser, Ashlee Carter.

We have also had amazing support from councillors, council offices and managers, but a special thanks to Conrad Pattison, the Parks Manager and the ongoing engagement and feedback from the community, special acknowledgement to Mary Perrott, who has come to almost every single board meeting and for sharing her vast knowledge of Bell Block :)

As I write this, we are in the throes of the local body elections, and with Tane not standing and only Lance Mepham standing in to replace him, we have all been elected unopposed.

THANK YOU – WE LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING YOU ALL NEXT TERM!