mt victoria, wellington

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.

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!

The New Crossways Community Trust is celebrating a year of our new community centre by holding a party on Friday 6 November from 6pm - 8pm.

The Wellington City Council is currently considering submissions on the proposal to re-open Manners Mall to buses and substitute a "pedestrian friendly" zone in Lower Cuba Street. The purpose of the changes is to improve the speed and efficiency of buses in the Golden Mile, and there has been lots of discussion - both pro and con - in the media and on local blogs.

If you have an opinion one way or the other, this week is your last chance to make your voice heard as submissions close on Friday. You can make an online submission on the Council's website here.

Mt Victoria Newsletter editor Patrick McCombs has an editorial in the latest newsletter that laments the consultation approach taken by the NZ Transport Agency, and this has also been published on wellington.scoop. Patrick notes that the Agency seemed to make commitments to a better consultation approach at the recent Basin Reserve Seminar hosted by the Wellington Civic Trust, and so it's disappointing that they have gone back to their usual bad behaviour.

If you missed the paper copy of the newsletter in your mailbox, you can find the downloadable version here.

Image courtesy of Joyseph via Flickr, cc licensed

Booklovers B&B at 123 Pirie Street is running an "Authors and Afternoon Tea" series through October and November, where locals can converse over a cuppa with some of New Zealand's leading writers. The schedule is:

18 October: Alison Wong
25 October: Mark Derby
1 November: Fiona Kidman
8 November: Harry Ricketts

Each afternoon tea runs from 3pm to 5pm on Sunday afternoons, and a maximum of 20 people can be accommodated. There's a $20 charge, and tickets can be booked by phoning Jane Tolerton on 384 2714 or by e-mail to booklovers@xtra.co.nz.

The latest edition of the Mt Victoria newsletter has hit the letterboxes and the Interweb tubes - get yours here.

Overnight, the chalk outlines of shadows cast by the plants and structures in Pirie Street have appeared on the footpaths, and have been softened and eroded by the day's rain, courtesy of an anonymous artist.

With thanks to Joni Mitchell

Image credit: Horrgakx via Flickr, cc licensed

It may not seem like the most exciting subject, but every year the Wellington City Council creates a Draft Annual Plan to prioritise the areas of focus for the Council. And every year there are changes (some positive, some negative) that impact on our neighbourhood. For this reason, the Mt Victoria Residents Association has a long history of engaging with the Council throughout the Draft Annual Plan (DAP) process to ensure they are aware of our needs and concerns. And it's that time again, so the Residents Association is seeking input from locals on what they think the Council should be doing in the coming year.