Council has resolved to refer a petition from Waihi Beach residents calling for a boundary change that would see their Ward amalgamated with Hauraki District to the Local Government Commission.

788 valid resident electors signed the petition, which was formally submitted to the Western Bay of Plenty District Council on 21 December 2009.

Council’s decision to head to the Local Government Commission was in line with Environment Bay of Plenty, Environment Waikato and Hauraki District Council. In addition, the Waihi Beach Community Board at an extraordinary meeting on Monday, 15 February resolved for the matter to be dealt with by the Commission.

As a Council we’re cognizant of providing clarity to submitters and the rest of the Waihi Beach community in a timely manner and I’m sure the Local Government Commission shares this view.

Contract awarded for further word at Waihi Beach

Council has awarded a contract for further shoreline protection work at Waihi Beach to Transfield Services Limited for $1.235m.

The Transfield work follows stages one and two of a coastal erosion protection programme at Waihi Beach.

The first two stages, which involved the building of ‘groynes’ (textile containers filled with five tonnes of sand) at Three Mile Creek, were completed at the end 2009.

The groynes will protect front dunes from further erosion by forcing the flow of Three Mile Creek seaward and ensure an uninterrupted flow of stormwater through the dunes.

Work on stage three – the building of a rock revetment and sand dune enhancement - is planned to start after Easter Weekend 2010.

The revetment will front properties on Shaw Road and The Loop, with dune restoration work being carried out in the vicinity of Shaw Road and Glen Isla Place.

The project is expected to take 25 weeks and be completed by the end of October, in time for the 2010/2011 summer season.