Rangitāiki ward councillor Gavin Dennis is delighted to see Whakatāne district’s smaller towns receiving a bit of love
from Whakatāne District Council.
Cracked and uneven concrete and raised cobblestones are being remedied in Murupara, Edgecumbe, Te Teko and Matatā this
month.
Mr Dennis has been pushing for more equitable treatment of areas outside of Whakatāne and Ōhope since becoming a
councillor in 2019.
A disparity of services was also one of the “key strategic themes” identified through public submissions to the
Long-term Plan 2024-2025. Concerns included the lack of basic facilities, footpaths, and inadequate maintenance of
public spaces.
Mr Dennis said his attention had been drawn to the issue through ongoing accidents caused by uneven footpaths, some of
which had resulted in hospitalisations.
“It is nice that we’re starting to see some improvement in the footpaths in the smaller towns,” he said. He expected to
see more regular maintenance done in future.
“They are going to relay 23 square metres of cobblestones in College Road, Edgecumbe,” he said.
They were also replacing 840sqm of concrete footpath in Edgecumbe and 169sqm in Te Teko.
Similar works had also taken place in Matatā in May, including the broken footpath outside the petrol station, and in
Murupara in April. Footpath repair work had be carried out in Tāneatua last year.
“Where they’re replacing concrete they have increased it to 100 millimetres thick instead of 75mm to make it more
resilient,” Mr Dennis said.
Not everyone is happy with the work being done, however.
Local Democracy Reporting [The Beacon] was alerted to the work being progressed in Te Teko by an anonymous caller who
felt there was nothing wrong with the old footpath.
“I can’t understand why they ripped it out. The new concrete really looks out of context.”
Mr Dennis said just showed that you couldn’t please everyone.