Footpath to Hamilton : It has been very gratifying to see Council work to complete the footpath from Matangi West to the Assisi Home – the final link to be able to travel off road from Matangi to Hamilton. Special thanks to our past Councillors, Rob McGuire and Aksel Bech who supported this community request. We know the path will be well used.

Jack Foster Reserve developments

– Council Car parking proposal. over the last year or so Matangi School and the Matangi Community committee have been in conversation with Council staff over the Council plan to provide a car parking area as part of a wider Council initiative to improve carparks for community facilities. The desire of the community is for the Reserve to continue to provide safe drop off and pick up for school students and secure and protect a vehicle free recreation area. This proposed design appears to provide good vehicle access when required and provides the opportunity to plan for an attractive community space. Feedback to Council from the Matangi Community Committee will be finalised at the meeting on Tuesday May 9 at the Tamahere Council and Community Space, 7 p.m. All welcome.

– Easement over a small part of Jack Foster Reserve for Matangi School proposal

Discussions have been taking place with Matangi school, Council and the Matangi Community Committee with regard to the Matangi school proposal to make use of an unused part of the Jack Foster Reserve. The following is a summary of the schools proposal:

“As part of the growth and development of Matangi School we are looking to have an OSET (On Site Effluent Treatment) plant built. As most of the community are aware the Matangi waste water treatment plant is over subscribed and is often in breach of it’s consents in both flow amounts and standing water.

The construction of an OSET plant at Matangi School will remove all waste water from the school site that is currently going to the Matangi Waste water treatment plant and see it biologically treated onsite, the plant we have planned removes Nitrates and Phosphates along with removing any coliforms or e-coli from the water before it is dripped back into the ground. This style of plant is much superior to the current treatment plant in Matangi and will remove a significant amount of waste water from the plant.

The area required for the drip field is 250sqm. Matangi school has involved the council with the idea of taking over the small strip of land at the back of Jack Foster reserve with the idea of using it for this purpose. The land in question is in the Northeast corner of the reserve. It measures roughly 290sqm making it perfect for this application. We note that the water from the plant is considered safe enough to drink and there would be no smell or contamination of this area. We would love to hear any feedback or open any discussions about this with the community and would love to hear feedback on any unforeseen issues or consequences that this idea might have ” Andrew Mowbray, 021 360 773, Matangi School Board Property Representative.

The Community Committee has met with Andrew and discussed the proposal with our Councillors and are awaiting final details. The committee is opposed to any sale of the Reserve land but an easement, providing that is the best solution to the issues raised by the school, would be supported. Please raise any questions you may have directly with Andrew, our Councillors or leave your comments here.