The Mt Victoria Residents Association is running its annual inorganic rubbish collection on Saturday 5 December. This is your opportunity to get rid of all those bits and pieces cluttering up your house and back shed that even Trade Me can’t find a new home for. Broken-down appliances, that broken sofa, the table missing a leg and the leftover bits from the renovation a decade ago – all are welcome, but no garden/green waste. And a personal plea – please no computer equipment! This should go to the e-waste recycling days held each September rather than polluting the landfills with toxic heavy metals.

All collections are via donation, with between $10 and $40 being expected depending on the amount of stuff. If you’d like more information or can volunteer to man the trucks on Saturday morning, please call or text Jessica on 027 339 5842. Collections commence at 8:30am!

The Mt Victoria Residents Association is hosting a public meeting on District Plan Change 72 (DPC 72) at New Crossways on Thursday 19 November at 7:30pm.

Wellington City Council has reviewed the planning rules that affect land zoned Residential. These are the rules that determine where and how development can take place. Guest speaker Jeremy Blake, Senior Policy Advisor WCC will lead us through the new amendments to the Inner Residential Area rules covering the demolition of pre-1930’s houses, as well as other amendments that may affect property owners in Mt Victoria.

Consultation on the proposed rule change is still open, with submissions closing on 27 November. If you care about the retention of character buildings in Mt Victoria, this is an essential meeting!

What: Learn about the proposed changes
When: Thursday 19 November
Where: New Crossways, 6 Roxburgh St, Mt Vic
Time: 7.30 – 9pm

For more information phone Jessica on 8024333.

The fate of the Bandoliers building on Town Belt land at the top of Majoribanks Street has hung in the balance over the last couple of years, and there has been much Council and public debate on how the building should be used. Two competing options have been under consideration; one to use the venue for the Innermost Gardens gardening group, and the other to use it as new premises for the Mt Victoria creche.

There has been considerable community support for the relocation of the creche to Bandoliers since the loss of their facilities at the old Crossways building on the corner of Elizabeth and Brougham Streets. However there have been significant challenges in gaining permission to use the Bandoliers site, due to the DDT contamination of the grounds, the need to spend considerable amounts of money to bring the facilities up to Ministry of Education standards, and resistance from Town Belt advocates who felt that locating a private creche on public land was a breach of the Town Belt Deed.

A decision now appears to have been made by the Wellington City Council, as noted by MVRA President Jessica Closson:

I rang WCC to get an update and in the past week they have agreed to give Innermost Gardens a license to use the grounds and a lease for the garage for storage (but not the building) for 3 years (but expect this will be a long-term commitment). There will be no fee, and the first 2 years Innermost will be conducting soil tests and remediation to cleanse the soil from contaminents.

Innermost Gardens will have to retain public access, and the expectation is that the existing concrete walkway will eventually be repaired and improved.

The building itself is to remain available for hire – for example this weekend it is being used for a yoga retreat, and throughout December a group has hired it out as a rehearsal venue.

As for the creche, we understand that negotiations are underway with The Street Church in Hania Street to use the refurbished rehabilitation buildings as a new home for Mt Victoria’s preschoolers, which is a move that will be very much welcomed in the community.

The inaugural Mt Victoria Festival earlier in the year was a huge success, and despite the rainy weather was a really enjoyable way of bringing the community together for a day of fun, food and entertainment. And in 2010 it’s going to be even bigger and better – so mark your diaries for Saturday 27 February.

The festival is being organised by the Crossways Community Trust, and Tania Austin has graciously agreed to apply her organising super-powers to the task once more – you can contact her by e-mail at tania(at)mtvictoria.org.nz. Applications are now open for anyone who would like a stall at the festival, and volunteers are being recruited. You can find details in the Festival menu on the right hand side.

Tania Austin is the coordinator for the Mt Victoria Festival 2010

Yes, that is MVRA President Jessica Closson in the red wig!