Northland news in brief: Tamaterau work begins; and Brynderwyns to reopen

Work on stage two of public works at Tamaterau, in the area around the hall, above, will start on Monday.

Tamaterau works start Monday

Stage two of works at Tamaterau, at Whangārei Heads, will start on Monday.

A blessing ceremony will take place at 7.30am and will be followed by he kai whakanoa [a tapu-removal ceremony] up in Tamaterau Hall afterwards.

The schedule of works for this stage will first include works at Tamaterau Hall, including a driveway, retaining wall, disabled carpark turning space, concrete work to link up space, and a dish drain. Then in late February/March, there will be kerbing/edging around the carpark, excavation for bollards and an edge beaming (edging works close to Pōhutukawa).

After that, work will include topsoil and a rock wall, a two-metre-wide grass strip between the beach and bollards, pavement overlay and compacting/grading of the metal.

The project is expected to be finished before Easter. Stage one included the sealing of the layby at Tamaterau.

Brynderwyns to reopen today

State Highway One over the Brynderwyn Hills, south of Whangārei, will re-open in both directions for all traffic including over-dimension vehicles from 8am on Friday, February 10. The road will re-open under traffic management (barriers, safety hit posts and temporary speed restrictions) and motorists are urged to use caution and drive to the conditions.

The road will continue to be assessed as we monitor the oncoming Cyclone Gabrielle and Waka Kotahi will not hesitate to close the road if it becomes unsafe.It has been closed due to slips caused by heavy rain two weeks ago.

Three injured in Kensington crash

Three people were injured in a crash on Western Hills Drive on Wednesday afternoon. One person in a critical condition and two in moderate conditions were taken to Northland Base Hospital, a Hato Hone St John spokesperson said. The road was partially blocked and traffic was diverted after the two-vehicle collision was reported around 3.30pm. The Serious Crash Unit would be notified, a police spokesperson said.

Bores and springs tested for nitrates

Northland bores and springs bode well in current nitrate water testing by groundwater scientists at GNS Science. For the next year, GNS Science, under a community research program, NitrateWatch, will offer a free and confidential nitrate testing service for rural Northland residents to mail in potable water samples to from their springs and bores. GNS senior scientist Karyne Rogers said the country’s drinking water standard allows up to 11.3 milligrams of nitrate for each litre of water. So far, testing showed nitrate levels from around 60 samples submitted by local residents were significantly under the limit and often below one milligram per litre. The NitrateWatch Team will be at Northland Fieldays 2023 from March 2 - 4 in Dargaville, where people can bring along a sample of their drinking water in a clean jar and get it tested on the day, or they can pick up a free testing kit. Testing kits can also be requested from nitratewatch@gns.cri.nz.

Swap food for paint

It’s that time of year again, when New Zealanders all over the country will be visiting Resene stores and donating cans of food in exchange for Resene paint testpots. Now entering its ninth year, the Resene Hunger for Colour food fundraiser will be giving people a chance to donate food and help vulnerable families in their community by swapping two cans of food for a 60 to 80-millilitre testpot of Resene paint. In February, people can swap up to 14 cans of food for seven Resene testpots, with all cans donated at Resene stores given to local Salvation Army foodbanks.