Bunnythorpe recognised as a community that matters

The Palmerston North village of Bunnythorpe is basking in an acknowledgement from the Local Government Commission that it is a distinct community that matters.

The village sits at the already-busy cross-roads of a proposed future rural freight route, with freight trains rumbling through its centre on a railway destined to become ever-busier as KiwiRail develops its 177-hectare freight centre on land designated between the village and the city’s north-east industrial zone.

The commission has stopped short of upholding an appeal against the city council’s decision denying the creation of a community board to represent Bunnythorpe’s interests.

But it has found it is a community with unique challenges in need of better relationships with the council, and has recommended the establishment of a community committee embedded in the council’s structures.

The decision has delighted appellant Aaron Fox, long-time resident Dale O’Reilly and chairman of the newly incorporated Bunnythorpe Community Committee Brett Neill, meeting at the village’s updated Cuba Bakery cafe.

“It’s a little village, and we are very proud of it,” said Neill.

“It’s away from the hustle and bustle, yet just a seven-minute drive away.”

O’Reilly said while development of the KiwiRail facililty and regional freight ring road could be 15 or more years away, the village had problems right now that needed to be dealt with.

The volumes of commuter traffic to and from Feilding and heavy traffic navigating narrow streets, sharp turns, railway crossing and tiny roundabout was already far more than the roads could cope with, and there was no mitigation planned.

Fox said he was not too disappointed there would be no community board, as that could come with additional costs he did not want the community to bear.

The recommendations were not binding, but Fox said they gave firm direction that Bunnythorpe residents must be provided with proper representation and be formally consulted on issues that affected them.

“The city council has to recognise that we matter, and they are on notice from the commission.

“The commission has recognised we need a better relationship.”

The commission said the committee should have at least four community members, including one from the Bunnythorpe Community Centre Association, at least two members representing Ngāti Kauwahta, and an elected councillor.

The committee should be embedded in the council’s governance structure, have terms of reference, power to report and make recommendations, a modest budget, be provided with regular updates and be supported by council staff.

Commissioners Brendan Duffy and Sue Bidrose said a committee could not alleviate the sense of uncertainty the community felt about the future ring road and freight developments.

However, the council could help by acting on its own suggestion of a village master-planning exercise that would help locals to understand and identify opportunities for its future.

They also urged the council to work with KiwiRail, Waka Kotahi and NZ Post to improve communications.

Neill said the new incorporated body he chaired was no substitute for the committee proposed by the commission, but had formed to fill a gap with the community centre association wanting to focus on management of the $1.64 million facility that opened in late 2021 after a 13-year wait.

City councillor with responsibility for the city’s rural villages Pat Handcock said there had been some “investment deficits” in Bunnythorpe’s services and facilities, and he was doing his best to ensure they were dealt with.

He said while the city council had not yet made any decisions about how to implement the commission’s recommendations, he would continue to do his part ensuring the community was consulted and involved in decisions affecting its future.