This tool highlights any potential unintended negative impacts as a result of this draft policy. This allows the decision makers time to tweak the draft policy to minimise these potential negative impacts.
Older people in Flaxmere were highlighted as a specific community of interest for this HIA. There was much consultation with elderly residents of Flaxmere which guided our recommendations to council. Public transport and the perception of safety were considered priority areas to focus on.
Masie was born in 1935. She has lived in Flaxmere for 38 years. Although she still drives, she tells me buses are handy and that she does take the bus to town. Public transport is important in maintaining mobility, independence and social contact.
She also discusses how she believes Flaxmere is desirable for the elderly because it is flat and easy to get around. I also learn some retirees had moved to Havelock North but eventually sold and moved to Flaxmere. Some reasons why people have moved here: It's easy to get around; the shopping centre, health services and houses are more affordable and some money is left over in the bank.
When discussing the subject of safety she tells me she has had no problems. She was burgled a long time ago. She believes Flaxmere is safer, "that you don't hear about crime or burglaries much any more and that things have calmed down quite a lot".
Perceptions of older people's safety relate to fear of crime but also to fear of public transport, traffic, driving and concerns about walking. Safety concerns in relation to walking include high-speed traffic, incomplete footpaths and unconnected routes.
Those were some of the things Maree and I became aware of while working on our Health Impact Assessment. We were fortunate to work alongside experienced senior planner Dawn Mackay, who at that time was employed by Hastings District Council.
She taught us, for example, that many of us are so conditioned to the "quarter-acre section" but actually, through careful planning and building, intensification could create positive outcomes; that urban sprawl onto our fertile Heretaunga Plains may not be the best for future development. It would be great, for example, to have more people living in inner-city Hastings to "bring the city alive" and help create a sense of place, with more cafes, eating areas, etc and more eyes on the street - which could then enhance our perception of safety.
Masie speaks highly of Age Concern Flaxmere. She believes weekly trips with picnic lunches and regular social gatherings are important, especially if living alone. As I drive Masie home, she asks to be dropped at the Flaxmere Pharmacy to collect her medications.
When she walks in, she is obviously well-known. She introduces me to her sister in law, who works there, and says her brother lives just over the road. She insists she will walk home.
Masie, you are an example to all of us.
You create a sense of community through your giving and sharing with others.
This same week I received a thank-you card from the Heretaunga Seniors club, with the following quote: "We are not primarily on this earth to see through one another but to see one another through."
-Ana Apatu is chief executive of the U-Turn Trust, based at Te Aranga Marae in Flaxmere.
