Tyres in Te Kahika Stream, Havelock North - 3 July 2024

In July citizens complained to Friends of Havelock North Streams about the situation you see above. Discarded tyres littering the side of Te Kahika Stream in Havelock North. The HB Regional Council was alerted and the photo above was taken at the time.

The complaint then ping-ponged back and forth between the Hastings District Council and HBRC, apparently with neither wishing to take responsibility for stream bank remediation.

Finally in September, HBRC came by and did a ‘clean-up’. It appears that they did so as a favour, given that official responsibility for such matters lies with HDC. Here’s the ‘after’ result.

Same location photo taken 7 October 2024

Emails released via an Official Information Act request indicate the two councils are still squabbling over who should do what next. It appears that lower-level employees have recommended what needs to be done to really deal with the mess, but higher-ups are constipated.

One staff member notes that, ‘The removal of the tyres has likely destabilized the toe of the embankment, more tyres will find their way into the stream with no visual improvement from recent works.’

Another states, ‘The issue is obvious. Remove the tyres from the slumped embankment and strengthen/retain the stream hillside.  At first glance, a simple cut to waste and rock armouring would be an ideal solution.’

But then, the decision, ‘We are clearing ‘loose’ debris from the stream channel.  We are not remediating the stream bank at this time.’

These are folks we entrust to resolve truly monumental issues on our behalf … consenting housing developments, improving stop banks.

So maybe they re too busy doing that to deal with ‘trivial’ matters like small stream clean-up.

In which case they should just come forward and say so … ‘We’ve noted the problem. We’re working on more important things. Clean-up is scheduled for October 2026.’

Then everyone would know exactly where they stand, and fingers could be crossed that in the meantime a culvert blockage on the stream in the next major weather event would not result in flooded homes.

And this might be too much to hope for. Perhaps the councils could use the wait time to settle who was on first base here.

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6 Comments

  1. This is typical of the way the environment is treated by all forms of government, national and local. Sure there’s a lot of work to be done after the cyclone – but the environmental problems existed well before that event, and the progress appears to be basically zero! And on top of local government lethargy we now have central government doing its best to get rid of the small amount of progress made over the years to meet their tax agenda and their weird world outlook by oil and gas exploration again. And the latest figures evidently show NZ emissions have continued to rise – could that be considered a form of mass suicide?

  2. The Hawkes Regional Council “Trumpet themselves” as being the Gustdians of our Environment.
    Yet they ignore this along with failing to deal with the Noxious, Nuisance Pest Prevalent injuiouurs to Peoples health, Privet Trees!!! Like of NCCs Strurms Gully Public Reserve is literally infested with the PEST! And HBRC Know it! Total inaction!
    Totally unacceptable blstant neglect of duty!
    Any other Regional Council would of dealt to to the nooxious pest trees asap.
    Come on hbrc talk to NCC and get those Noxious nasties knocked over..Please

  3. Everyone is blaming council for the mess. How about looking at who dumped them there, in the first place. Given where they are, isn’t it likely a current or previous, resident or residents are responsible. And no one is trying to hold them accountable.
    How about, instead of bickering over whose responsibility it is to clean it up, now, you ask who did it in the first place and get them to take responsibility. Or, I don’t know, everyone who lives there goes and takes one out. These are your properties that are going to be affected. When do you take responsibility for protecting them?

  4. We all know HDC has a deny, deny. and deny again mentality, on the other side of the coin, they won’t let you drop off used retired tyres at our refuse transfer station, so they would rather see then dumped on the side of roads, into streams and Rivers and the like, how dammed pathetic!! same as broken concrete, it must not go to the Transfer Station, so the “Dumpers” find alternative disposal areas, HDC try and see the Wood over the trees, give our residents areas to dispose of waste rubbish, and most of these problems will completely dissapear

  5. This kind of small issue should have been dealt with quickly & efficiently. Yes should never have been dumped but just deal with it! Bureaucracy at its best/worst !

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