Message from the mayor

The past month has continued to be a huge challenge for people impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle as they get more clarity on the future of their flood-damaged land and properties.

Community meetings, either led by the community or Council, are being held to gather feedback from residents in flood-affected areas about the provisional land categorisations.

To assist further, 11 connectors have been brought in to help individuals and whānau navigate the complexities of the land categorisation process and outcomes, work through council’s regulatory processes, and connect them to Central Government agency support.

The connectors are trained in community liaison, welfare, and emergency response, and are available to work one-on-one with residents, walking alongside them to help them move forward with their recovery.

Wet weather in recent weeks has not been helpful, but we are still making good progress restoring access across the district, and looking forward to Redclyffe Bridge being reinstated by the end of this month.

This will make it a much quicker journey for Puketapu residents who, with the destruction of the Puketapu bridge, have had to face long detours.

We’re also very proud of the work being done to clean up the more than one million cubic metres of silt being tackled by the Silt Recovery Taskforce.

Most of the contractors involved are local and knowing they are making a big dent in the clean-up recovery makes a real difference.

While we acknowledge the difficulties many are facing, and the long road ahead, there are some exciting events coming up to brighten the winter months and look forward to.

This year we will be celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the founding of Hastings township. I’m looking forward to the many activities on offer, hearing people’s stories, and celebrating the resilience our community has shown over these years, and all those who have contributed to creating the wonderful Hastings we are so proud of.

We will also be celebrating Matariki with a range of events over four days. There’s something for all the whānau and I hope you get the opportunity to take part in some or all of them.

Kia kaha

Sandra Hazlehurst

Mayor of Hastings

1 September 2023

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