What is placemaking?
Placemaking is where the Council, Hauraki Iwi and hapū, and the community work together to make our public places better for everyone and for the place itself. Placemaking actions can include anything from widening footpaths and developing cycleways, to installing art, or holding a market. We’ll be able to do some actions fairly quickly, and others will take more time and budget.
If you value local knowledge and history, want to show your aroha (love) and connection to your place, and you’re keen to do the mahi (work) together to turn aspirations into reality, placemaking is forContinue reading
What is placemaking?
Placemaking is where the Council, Hauraki Iwi and hapū, and the community work together to make our public places better for everyone and for the place itself. Placemaking actions can include anything from widening footpaths and developing cycleways, to installing art, or holding a market. We’ll be able to do some actions fairly quickly, and others will take more time and budget.
If you value local knowledge and history, want to show your aroha (love) and connection to your place, and you’re keen to do the mahi (work) together to turn aspirations into reality, placemaking is for you!
What is a placemaking plan?
A placemaking plan sets out our joint vision and aspirations for the public places in our towns, notes any challenges and opportunities, and outlines the actions we will take to improve these places. It is not about potholes or your rubbish service. That’s for our service request system.
We received a Better Off Funding package from central government to invest in the wellbeing of our communities. Part of this funding package is to develop placemaking plans for Paeroa, Kerepēhi and Ngātea.
Innovating today to transform tomorrow
We’re working with the talented, award winning design company Isthmus to shape Placemaking Plans with the community, for the community.
Developing the placemaking plans
Phase One: Speaking Together and Phase Two: Imagining Together (Complete)
At our phase one events in November 2023, the communities came up with some great ideas. The next community engagement events took place in February 2024, including Isthmus-led public workshops in Paeroa, Ngātea, and Kerepēhi. Workshops were also held at Hauraki Plains College, Paeroa College and Goldfields School. The conversations centered on high-level vision and goals for the towns, specific projects people would like to see happen, and inspiring people's creativity through the use of collage.
You can read a summary of the phase 1 and phase 2 co-design process, including community members ideas for each town in the Hauraki Placemaking Plans Engagement Stocktake on the Documents tab.
Phase Three: Planning Together
This phase of the project is underway now. Isthmus are translating the community feedback and ideas into a vision and goals for our towns and placemaking options. They are also putting their design expertise to use showing how we can tell our District's Story through design.
This phase also involves meetings between Isthmus, Council staff and key stakeholders, such as the Waikato Regional Council and Waka Kotahi to further discuss the proposed projects.
We plan to have Placemaking Plans signed off by September 2024.Council staff will also liaise further with local community groups to discuss potential partnerships for delivering some of the projects once the Council has adopted the placemaking plans.
