Thinking big while keeping an eye on the detail – Mayor Cocurullo
Published on 19 February 2025
Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo, Chair of Council’s Youth Advisory Group Jodie Rameka, and Kaumatua Fred Tito celebrating public spaces that all can enjoy during last Friday’s Love it Here Festival.
We’ve got an intense year coming up, with major projects unfolding nationally, regionally and locally.
Our Council has an Annual Plan to produce, local government has elections in October, there’s progress to make on Local Water Done Well and, to top it off, we are all working on what regional deals we can put together to bring about the economic growth and prosperity Northland needs.
The Joint Regional Economic Development Group, which is a combination of all four Councils, has met to discuss the proposals and development options for Northland’s regional deal with Central Government.
The Government wants a strong direction on what Northland aspires to achieve, and what role we want to play in New Zealand’s economic growth.
At times like this, when big-picture thinking captures our attention, we also need to keep a close eye on the local projects we already have underway or lined up. For the next six months, these are the core services our residents require, expect and deserve, especially while the weather holds.
With the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabriel behind us, it is probably timely to talk about our resilience. Our goal is to work more closely with contractors and, over the next month, we will be focusing on repairs to the remaining cyclone slips and damage.
At a very local level, we have awarded or are in the process of awarding contracts for the Portland Sportsfield drainage, public toilet blocks at Maungatapere, Pipiwai and Parua Bay, and flood prevention / mitigation in the Whangārei urban area and the northern growth area (Te Kamo East / North Tikipunga). This will include stormwater system improvements and renewals in the Hātea Drive and Rurumoki Street areas, along with major work in Morningside.
We will continue renewing ageing wastewater pipes and working on long-term projects to address the District’s wastewater problems (particularly in Parua Bay), while planning to expand capacity in the Ruakākā area. The team is also working on new wastewater dumping stations for caravans and mobile homes.
While the debate surrounding fluoridation continues, our water team will continue repairs and improvements to the Fairway Drive water-pump station and reservoir, renew the Otaika water main – coordinating with the NZ Transport Agency’s (NZTA) work on State Highway One – and will renew the Loop Road water pipeline.
Work on the Ngunguru seawall has started and we have been consulting with the community about the Kopipi footpath work in February. This is the first of the unsubsidised footpath projects aimed at addressing rural and coastal needs that would not otherwise be funded by NZTA.
In just the past week, we have been working on a District-wide sports hub, which was started in 2012, with the plan to bring those options to you soon.
We are also working with the Bream Bay community to develop the One Tree Point Cycleway, aiming to bring to Council a final plan of this section and an outline of how Council is contributing to this community-led project.
While this is going on, we are planning next year’s programme of works – promising a back-to-basics year – and we will bring the Draft Annual Plan to you in April.