This summary of the agenda for the September 16th Raglan Community Board meeting has been prepared by John Lawson, Secretary of Whāingaroa Environmental Defence Inc., 51 Cliff St, Raglan 07 825 7866 email johnragla@gmail.com
The next Raglan Community Board meeting is on 16 September at 1.30pm the Supper Room, Raglan Town Hall. The public forum will be near the start of the formal meeting, giving an opportunity to discuss issues. You might prefer to email/phone the Board.
Wednesday’s RCB agenda includes – . John Lawson has summarised it here.
Summary –
- Wainui Reserve “draft plan has been circulated to the working group and mana whenua for comment. Engagement with working group members and mana whenua are underway at the time of writing. Additionally, the opportunities and limitation report is underway that will help inform the staged development of the site. Staff are meeting with members of the community board to make amendments to the plan prior to moving into detailed design and staging.”
- Airfield “Community Board is interested in hearing updates on decisions on this item. In particular there was a question re: location. . . The operation of the airfield continues at the present time. Staff monitor the site and maintenance continues.”
- Reserve bookings to end of year – Manu Bay 7, Papahua 47, rugby ground 23, Wainui Reserve 1.
- Water “works . . . during 2026/27 . . . on Long Street, Wainui Road . . . Manukau Road, Upper Bow Street and Government Road . . . Main Road/SH23 watermain renewal has been brought forward for immediate delivery to manage an identified project overlap with upcoming NZTA and WDC roading programmes. Collaborative planning and programme resequencing . . . to complete the watermain renewal ahead of the planned corridor works.”
- Stormwater – “Nihinihi Avenue stormwater improvements, Wainui Road stormwater outfall upgrades, Government Road network upgrades, and Raglan Reserve stormwater quality improvements. A pre-start meeting with Council, the contractor and iwi representatives was completed on 15 July 2026, with physical works underway in early August.”
- Sewage “high rainfall events between mid-June and mid-July. By the end of July, roadside pond levels had returned to normal . . . Treatment Plant consent process . . . Regional Council requested further information, which has been responded to . . . pipeline and ecological restoration area within Wainui Reserve. Construction cannot begin until the new discharge consent is approved.”
- Greenslade Playground costs “Engineering Consultancy Work [Harrison & Grierrson] ($17,580.00), Play Equipment Cost [Playground People Ltd] ($42,069.00), Playground Install Cost [Raglan Excavation 2023 Ltd] ($43,553.26), Boardwalk Installation for a Vehicle Accessway for playground Maintenance [Stop Digging Screw Piles Ltd] ($123,398.68), WRC and WDC Consents ($8,273.93), Geo Technical work, Erosion and Sediment Plan and Monitoring [BCD] ($16,350.00), Flying Fox Safety Matts [Matta] ($9,372.10), Archaeological Assessment [Sian Keith Archaeology Ltd] ($6,950.00).”
- World Surf League Economic Analysis 85% described the overall impact as positive (radio interview here) “request for engagement was raised with MBIE . . . Council provides staff support to event organisers to help ensure keyrequirements are met, including waste management, traffic management, and health and safety obligations. . . if a proposed event complies with the relevant provisions of the District Plan and is a permitted activity, there is limited ability to restrict or decline the activity”.
- Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill update to be provided when passed.
- Discretionary fund has $22,157.22. Raglan Community Media want $669.50 for a Meet the Candidate Event on 18 October.
Reports from Chairperson, Board Members, Councillor and Senior Leadership (on Long-Term Plan, council amalgamation, discretionary funding, livestock movement, Building Amendment Bill, community wellbeing funding, resource consent reporting, road reseals, bird flu and District-wide community preparedness training day – 12 Sep) will all be verbal.
In addition to the Community Board meeting, there are these events:
KASM has a free bus to the Saturday 19th Greenpeace/Forest & Bird March for Nature on Queen Street leaving Stewart St at 10am – book here to keep DoC from making Karioi a commercial area.
WRC Public Transport Subcommittee will receive a Raglan Better Buses petition to Regional Council at 1.15pm Monday 14 September at 160 Ward St. It’d be good to have a crowded room! Hope to see you on the 10am bus on Monday, heading to Ward St (the meeting starts at 11.30).
If you haven’t already signed it, please add your name to the petition, either between 10 and 3 at the iHub on Wainui Rd, or on-line at https://www.change.org/p/improve-protect-raglan-public-transport.
This is the speech –
Kia ora tātou
My name is Nicola Callaghan, I’m here to speak on behalf of the 250 + people who have signed the petition that we are presenting today.
Some individuals have been working in this space for many years and for others it is a recent collaboration. What we all have in common is that we would like a better bus service for our community and we would like to know what needs to happen for this to become a reality.
For us better buses means having a regular service between Raglan and Hamilton that people can rely on to get them to school, including in Hamilton East, their job, their hospital appointment or to visit friends and whānau. As there is not a regular service the community has created a FaceBook commuters group with almost 800 members to help fill the gap. Our population is growing and an increasing population are elderly who are losing their licences due to falling health. Buses help us connect to other parts of the region and other parts of the country. They allow people to meet and importantly they allow that to happen without the pressures and costs of owning their own vehicle.
Raglan is a tourist town, in summer when it can be difficult to find a carpark, with long queues at the single lane bridge and when there are long lines of traffic heading into and out of the township. If we had a regular bus these issues could be alleviated. We have many stories of tourists that want to spend time (and money) here but had difficulty getting to Raglan or had to cut trips short because there is not a bus to get them back to Hamilton and then further afield. This is especially acute at the weekend when there are only three return trips a day.
Five years ago Waikato District Council thought it was worthwhile having a local bus and were willing to fund it to the tune of $100000 year. This hasn’t eventuated yet the need has increased. A solution is overdue.
There are also the economic implications to consider. Go Raglan identified transport as a real barrier to work, locally and in the surrounding area. Without a suitable bus it is expensive for people who commute from Hamilton and can contribute to staff shortages with local businesses.
Buses are needed leaving Hamilton after 5pm. The final bus departs the Transport Centre at 6.15pm so people who finish work at 5 have to wait around for the last bus and do not get back to Raglan until after 7pm. If people want to go out for dinner, the movies or a show they have to drive or else stay overnight in Hamilton. If they drive then they cannot drink and drive safely – though some people do. Evening buses would have benefits for people and businesses in both Raglan and Hamilton by allowing more opportunities to spend longer in each centre.
It seems the decisions were made by the council in line with a report by Auckland based consultants, M R Cagney, who overlooked some basic facts. Raglan has already grown from a population of 3,000 to 4,000 and is forecast to grow to 12,000. whereas Te Kauwhata and surrounds has 2,200. In summer Raglan’s population increases by 300-400% to 15000 to 20000 (WDC). We pay $84.40 in transport rates and have high user numbers, while Te Kauwhata, with hourly buses from 2027, pay only $29.54 and have lower passenger numbers. Raglan’s bus has the highest number of passengers per bus of any Waikato route and the least subsidy per passenger of any of the routes radiating from Hamilton. If Raglan had a Structure Plan, as every other growing town does, they might have taken note of it. In whatever way need is measured, they should have realised that Raglan has an even better case for more buses than Te Kauwhata. We’d like to know how Regional Council propose to sort it out in a way that is fair to all ratepayers and bus users and in a way that will achieve optimal results for the transport network.
To quote Waikato Regional Council, “Reliable and efficient transport is the backbone of regional connectivity and economic growth. We help shape the future of our towns and city by developing mass transit solutions, cutting emissions and reducing reliance on low-occupancy vehicles.” We would like to see these words in action in Raglan and look forward to a time when catching public transport is the norm.
Can you think of ways to improve it, though fit it in the 5 minutes we’ve been given please?
Ngā mihi
John (he/him).