Advocacy

Pinehaven has been a great community to live in, and to raise a family in. There are a number of issues Pinehaven is now facing that threaten the uniqueness of Pinehaven. These have been raised by Residents and Community Groups. PPA has a role in highlighting concerns that Pinehaven Residents have raised. PPA may not agree with all the views represented but will provide a summary and who to contact. If you would like your concerns raised contact us.

Dangerous Tree: The large pinetree on the Pinehaven Library Grounds owned by Upper Hutt City Council (UHCC) was an identified hazard. After further damage was caused by falling branches the tree was removed in May 2023.
Sewage: In heavy rainfall there are a couple of properties in Pinehaven who cannot use their toilets as they will overflow and they have to contend with raw sewage spilling over onto their property and the public foot path. Residents have asked Council for several years to address this. Pre-election we have heard that Council is now following this up so we hope this will be sorted for residents and the community using the footpath.

Tree felling and slashings: Residents and PPA have asked Council for controls on trees being felled on private properties where logs and slashings have been left. Logs were found on the road and on a Resident’s property. A Resident asked Council to address this, which they have refused to do. Contact UHCC askus@uhcc.govt.nz and make your views known to the Council if you would like protections in place.

Forestry: Pinehaven sits at the foot hills of a Forest owned by Guildford Timber Company. A community advocacy group (Save our Hills) and local Residents made submissions to Council to have Forestry Standards put in place. Council declined to do so. In 2019 a landslip from an area that had been cleared on the forested hills brought tons of rocks and debris down onto 4 Resident’s properties. Residents had to clear their sections and debris at their own cost. If you would like to have standards in place for the Forestry owned by Guildford Timber Company – let your Councillors know.

Pinehaven Floodmaps: In 2010, the Regional Council put out Floodmaps for Pinehaven. Residents who have lived in the area expressed an outcry that the maps showing the current situation far exceeded any event in living memory that has happened in Pinehaven, including exceeding the 1976 catastrophic Floods in Pinehaven. Residents, Local Community group (Save Our Hills) and Engineers produced evidence including reports, soil infiltration tests, case studies, data on actual flooding events, and presented these at Hearings to show how the Pinehaven Floodmaps are inflated. Residents have lobbied Council on showing Pinehaven in a floodzone to an extent that it isn’t, then allowing development on the surrounding hills that will create it. Pinehaven has no Flood protection and the environment, people’s properties, insurances and lives are at future risk. The Floodmaps have been endorsed and accepted by Council and the Council refused to engage to go through the evidence themselves.

Development on the Hills around Pinehaven, Silverstream, Whiteman’s Valley, Stokes Valley: A large urban development of approximately 3,000 properties [dwellings per properties is unknown] is planned for the Hills. Council’s consultants produced a report, which Council accepted, to say that building 1,600 dwellings in one part of the this development will make very little difference to flooding in Pinehaven or other areas. Inflated floodmaps will enable development to go ahead without mitigating the true extend of the run off which will impact Pinehaven. Furthermore, roading is planned to access the development which will also impact Pinehaven.

Street lighting: There are parts of Pinehaven where Street lights are often not working or not there. This makes some areas quite dark and there is concern for safety.

Pot holes: Pinehaven joins many parts of the country in navigating around pot holes! Contact askus@uhcc.govt.nz to ask what progress is being made.

Council District Plan Changes: Currently PC47 Natural Hazards and PC49 Open Spaces. View more information here.