Large trees in Te Atiawa Park uprooted by wind

Windy night

Strong winds on Sunday night meant a busy night for Kāpiti Coast District Council’s crews and contractors, who responded to a number of callouts, including for fallen trees and streetlights.

Trees came down and were later made safe for removal in Manly St, Milne Dr and Mazengarb Rd.

Street lights on Golf Rd and Te Roto Drive were damaged by fallen trees.

Some large macrocarpa trees came down at Te Atiawa Park. These were taped off and are being removed.

Crews were out on Monday assessing parks and reserves, cleaning up debris and responding to various service requests.

The public can contact the council to report any issues through the usual channels: calling 0800 486 486, using the Antenno app or visiting kapiticoast.govt.nz/contact-us/online-service-request.

MetService meteorologist Thapi Makgabutlane said, “Kāpiti Coast Airport recorded maximum winds of 111km/h on Sunday evening, and Levin had maximum winds of 88km/h, both in the hour to 8pm.”

“Overnight, things eased slightly, with the strongest winds after midnight reaching 74km/h and 64 km/h at Kāpiti Coast Airport and Levin respectively.

Entertaining food fair

Entertainment will be a key feature of the upcoming Kāpiti Food Fair.

“With us running two gigs on one day, we have two stage line-ups to bring together [which will] entertain visitors,” fair co-owner Helene Judge said.

“During the day, we have a fabulous Fleetwood Mac tribute band, an eight-piece funk and hip-hop band, and the fabulous Miss Tui.

“The night gig promises to be a real hot-dang evening of dance and song, with Jodie and the Stowaways warming up the crowd before Tami Neilson takes control of the stage.”

Early-bird tickets for the night gig are on sale now and, if purchased by November 8, are $65 for adults or $195 families (two adults and two children up to the age of 17).

The Kāpiti Food Fair will be held on Saturday, December 2 at Mazengarb Reserve, Paraparaumu, rain or shine, from 10am to 4pm.

Get your tickets now while they’re on early-bird rates, up until November 8 – $10 per adult, children up to 16 enter for free, and tickets for those with a Gold Card or student ID are only $5.

Tickets are available via: www.events.humanitix.com/kapiti-food-fair-2023.

Exciting new role

Claire Mance is the Kāpiti Chamber of Commerce’s newly appointed general manager.

“I’ll be working closely with the chamber board, primary stakeholders, key partners and our business community to understand the needs of business owners and their people today, and leveraging all of the experience, wisdom and collective knowledge around me.

“I’m driven to help others feel more confident about connecting, designing and ideating the businesses of our future.

“My underlying principles are those of respect, trust, knowledge, culture and perspective, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of tomorrow’s chamber.”

Rail contract renewed

Metlink trains will continue to be run by Transdev through to 2031, following an extension of the rail partnering contract.

“We’re delighted to be extending our contractual relationship with Transdev,” Metlink group manager Samantha Gain said.

“This extension is testament to the quality-of-service delivery that Transdev has helped us provide Wellingtonians with for the past seven years and counting.”

Full bus timetable back

Bus services in the Wellington region will resume a full timetable next month, re-introducing 65 services suspended last year by the driver shortage.

On September 1, Metlink had 609 bus drivers on the road, 66 short of the 675 needed to reinstate full bus network service levels.

Forty new drivers are expected to complete their training during September and October.