Heritage Area Budget – Fruit Trees Miss Out

Our Heritage Area Budget has been allocated, and the winners for this round are Bethells LAP, more and more  for the weeds ,  the bats get another 5k, meetings, consultants  and reports.

Emails to our Local Board Reps requesting input into this budget went unanswered.  And it’s unclear who did  propose the projects that made the list and that did get funding.

There is nothing in this allocation  that specifically addresses protection of the special character of our rural areas as specified in the Heritage Area Act.  

Also surprising is the 15k spend going to reproducing a booklet that already exists. Item 3 living in the bush.  Living in the bush.

Item 10 + 11 There appears to be a further 8k going to the Kumeu consultant for business stocktaking and facilitating.

And 9k for 2 x council landowner networking forums !   Shouldn’t this come from governance budget.  And it’s a bit disrespectful to the communities time as we have already been showing up to R&R’s since 1952.  For 0$  That’s the forum.  And local board have only sporadically attended.

 

Breakdown below….Full details on Waitakere Ranges Local Board Agenda August 24 p 187

Allocates the 2014/15 financial year Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area Act
Programme budget as follows:
i) Local Area Plan for Bethells Beach / Te Henga and the Waitākere Valley –
$20,173
ii) Web site development – $2,000
iii) ‘Living in the Bush’ – information and advice – $15,000    
iv) Annual Local Board/community forum on WRHA Act implementation (across all topics/objectives) – $5,000
v) Heritage Area Conservation Network forum – $4,000
vi) Sustainable Neighbourhoods Programme – $90,000 (Weedfree Trust holds the Sustainable Nieghbourhoods contract)
vii) Strategic Weed Projects – $25,000 ( 2 new weed sites to be chosen)
viii) Long Tailed Bat research/protection/recovery – $5,000 (Bats are part of Weedfree Trust’s Sustainable Nieghbourhoods contract)
Item 19 Waitākere Ranges Local Board
28 August 2014
Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area Programme Allocation For The 2014/2015
ix) Heritage Site Mapping – Phase 1 – $12,500
x) Local business stocktake – $5,000
xi) Small business facilitation – $3,000
b) Support in principle the funding of the following project but defer a decision on allocation until further information is provided on this project:
i) Heritage Site Mapping –Stage 1 field work – up to $38,500