From Social Media Part 2 (Some Questions, Some Answers)

Upper Hutt, 24th August 2025 

Authorised by Hellen Swales - hellenformayor@gmail.com

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Introduction

Below are some more extracts from various social media threads that I have picked up during my own preparations for the forthcoming Local Body Elections for Upper Hutt in 2025.

As stated before one of the challenges with social media is that valuable questions and comments can easily get lost in the noise and scattered across different threads and groups and often buried before they're properly seen or addressed.

But also, not all people seek answers through social media, and in recent times, avid participants have left these social media platforms over the backlash, the cancel culture, that has permeated society in recent years. Many now seek answers from other sources. Hence my extracts through into these blogs available on my campaign website.

So, I have captured some of the statements/questions into this blog to distribute to a wider audience.

Now to the statements/questions for this blog, statements in bold and my answers in italics for this blog.

Regards

Hellen Swales

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Parking

There’s a lot of focus on the Malls paid car parking spaces and rightfully so.

The Maidstone Mall was seen as a symbol of a prospering Upper Hutt in the past, kind of like the soul of the CBD in some ways.  One of the highest priorities should be activating measures to pressure the mall owners to remove this charge.

It’s my understanding that the mall owners had to seek local council approval to initiate the parking fees in the first place and if that’s true, can’t that agreement be repealed?

No, the Mall did not need the permission of Upper Hutt City Council to install the Parking machines. This was a commercial decision they made on their own.

Absentee Landlord’s

It kind of feels like absentee landlord’s are letting the CBD turn into a slum. Can the council pull any levers to incentivize landlords such as rates penalties for buildings unoccupied for longer than 6 months?

With regards to absentee Building owners council have a mechanism through the Unoccupied Commercial Premises Bylaw which unfortunately doesn’t have teeth it should. Other than try to engage with them to encourage investment into the property.

Building Usage

Can the council pull any levers to make to it cheaper to demolish and rebuild earthquake prone CBD buildings, and maybe incorporate the new buildings with additional living spaces above?

The council has no influence over the cost to demolish or ability to offer an incentive to demolish and rebuild. I would certainly support inner city living as we know that would bring many benefits to the CBD.

Roading

Can the council introduce off peak toll charges for light vehicles using River Road between 9 and 3 every day?

With regards to River Road this is a State Highway and council have no control over this. It is Central Government controlled through NZTA/Waka Kotahi.

100 CBD Ideas

How do we experiment and try 100 cheap ideas to stimulate Upper Hutt’s CBD without wading through months of red tape?

If you had a Business Improvement District (BID) or a Mainstreet Entity they would have a relationship with the businesses and building owners, council and other partnership that enhance positive outcomes for the Business District Area. This would possibly have better support in getting some of the initiatives off the ground as I believe they would have more of a vested interest it is making these projects work.

What have you done?

What have you done in the last 15 years and why did Council, while you have been Deputy Mayor, chose to ditch the City Centre strategy?

Over the past six years as Deputy Mayor and as the alternate representative to the Mayor on Regional Committees, I have always been prepared to step up and be a strong voice for Upper Hutt.

I have consistently advocated for our community on key issues such as rates, which I have outlined in detail in my Rates Blog.  

Beyond that, I have worked to deliver projects that make a real difference to everyday life in our city, including, but not only:

• Supporting the democratic process that enabled the extension of Whirinaki Whare Taonga.

• Backing the redevelopment of Maidstone Max and the Maidstone Sports Hub.

• Supporting vital infrastructure such as the Pinehaven Stream Flood Protection Works.

• Advocating strongly at the Wellington Water Committee as the alternate member, particularly on the affordability of Local Water Done Well, as I have also written about in my Local Water Done Well blog.

• Helping secure a safer bus stop for children in Blue Mountains.

• Supported the upgrade to strengthen the Upper Hutt Library so it could be our Civil Defence Centre if needed.

• Supported the Upper Hutt Rail Station Upgrade (with GWRC & KiwiRail)

• Supported the Lane Street Water Reservoirs to improve water resilience

• And many more.

I have also been proactive in addressing concerns directly raised by residents, from water issues in rural areas, illegal waterway dams, to something as small but as important as a parking ticket. I have promoted the rates remission entitlement to the community not just to our seniors but also to low-income homeowners as the thresholds have been lifted.  

I have arranged for the council rates team to go out into the community to assist with applying for rates rebates.

For those that reach out via email or a call I’m ready to assist.

City Centre Strategy

As to your second question “Why did Council chose to ditch the City Centre Strategy”

During my time as the Deputy Mayor from 2019 the last City Centre Strategy was based upon work done in 2011 by Kobus Menz on our CBD and its overall design. That design led to updates to the CBD and surrounding area as a council funded program of work. In 2022 council decided to update its CBD strategy given it had been 10 years since the last review and recommendations. Therefore council engaged Isthmus to engage the community on a City Centre Strategy. Recommendations from Isthmus and feedback from the community. Work has started on some of these initiatives.

So, to the contrary, Upper Hutt City Council has not ditched its City Centre Strategy but moved forward with new initiatives.

Overall, at the Council table, I have approached every decision thoughtfully, supporting or opposing proposals based on whether I believed they were in the best interests of Upper Hutt and its community. One thing is clear: no single councillor achieves these outcomes alone—we each only have one vote. But I am proud of the role I have played in ensuring Upper Hutt’s voice is heard and our community’s needs are kept front and centre.

Developer Contributions

No Developer Contributions for the last 20 years?

The Council did not have any developer contributions in place prior 2018. The Council established a Development and Financial Contributions Policy in 2018 which has been in effect through to 30 June 2023.  A revised version then took effect from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. Following consultation of the Long-Term Plan 2024 – 2034 council revised the policy to reflect the increased costs the council faces in urban development and new subdivisions.

The purpose of the Policy is to ensure that a fair, equitable, and proportionate share of the cost of that infrastructure is funded by development. Upper Hutt City Council intends to achieve this by using:

• Development contributions under the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) to help fund growth related capital expenditure on transport, water, wastewater, stormwater, and district wide benefiting community infrastructure in the city; and

• Financial contributions under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), primarily to help fund growth related reserve and local leisure facilities, such as playgrounds.

Development and Financial Contributions Policy

The Long-Term Plan has an estimated income projection of $22.43M over the 10-year period from the Development and Financial Contributions which amounts of 1.5% of councils total revenue. This policy is reviewed and updated at every Long-Term Plan.

Community Engagement

Step 1 actually consult the public instead of letting the council lead every discussion!

You’re right real consultation means more than the council presenting a finished idea. Step 1 should be listening first: asking the community what matters to them, not just telling them what’s already been decided. I believe we need to flip the process so residents, mana whenua, businesses, and community groups are part of shaping the discussion from the very beginning. That way, council becomes a partner in delivering on the community’s priorities, not just the driver of every conversation.

CBD Revitalization

So why haven't you done this “CBD Revitalization” already as deputy?

Experience Upper Hutt was an initiative piloted by Upper Hutt City in the early 2000s for five years. I was fortunate to be appointed as the Director of that programme.

The link to my blog on my website identifies this programme: Upper Hutt CBD – Revitalisation.

When the Experience Upper Hutt initiative ended, due to council bringing that capability in-house, I was approached to do contract work for the Jackson Street Programme Inc. in Petone. They wanted a refresh of their direction and a business plan that would deliver results. I developed that plan, and subsequently, I was offered the role of running the Jackson Street programme.

You may wonder why I haven’t raised this experience around the council table before. For many years, some colleagues perceived that my role as Jackson Street Programme Coordinator could present a conflict of interest, so I registered it as such.

In my view, this experience has been invaluable. It has given me strong insight into advocating for the business community both locally and at a central government level representing over 235 Jackson Street businesses and building owners. It has also reinforced why clear communication is so important, and why community frustration grows when decisions seem predetermined.

I’ve seen both sides of the table as an elected member and as a community advocate. That dual perspective has been both challenging and rewarding.

During my 15 years on council of which 6 years has been as the Deputy Mayor, I have never had to step back from the council table or the council chambers or exclude myself from a council workshop due to any conflict because of the Jackson Street Programme. Naturally, should I be successful in my campaign for Mayor I would tender my resignation to the Jackson Street Programme.

Wasteful Spending

It should be a priority for any new Council and Mayor that they make a commitment to go through the books line by line to remove all of the wasteful spending, the community of ratepayers have had enough and something has to change. We see the continued use of ratepayer's funds for vanity projects. Our extended family will only vote for those who commit to making a commitment to rein in spending and reprioritising their community who elect them.

Thank you for your comments. I couldn’t agree more. We need elected representatives who understand how a multi-million-dollar organisation functions, and who can make informed decisions about prioritising capital expenditure, while ensuring operational funding is directed toward renewing and maintaining Council assets.

When council was adopting the Long-Term Plan 2024–2034, I strongly advocated for a full rates review. I'm pleased to say that this work has now been agreed to,  joining many other councils who have already undertaken or are currently progressing through the same process.

I absolutely support a line-by-line review of our budget to ensure that every dollar spent is delivering maximum value for our community. We must be able to demonstrate that our spending aligns with community priorities and provides real outcomes. By identifying and cutting wasteful spending, we can deliver better services without constantly going back to ratepayers for more funding.

Please read my blog on rates for more information.

Community Engagement

Why doesn’t the Council genuinely engage with the public before making these decisions? You say you make choices based on what you believe is right, but where is the community voice in that process?

We want decisions grounded in open consultation and real feedback, not just what a few individuals think is right. Representation means listening — not assuming.

Thank you, I’ve had many discussions with the council’s CEO about this very issue and how we can genuinely improve engagement with the community. Especially when there’s a perception that consultation is just a tick-box exercise and the decisions have already been made.

Who you elect onto Council are your first layer of community voice. That’s why it’s so important to carefully evaluate Mayoral and Councillor candidates because they are the people who will carry your voice into the decision-making process. The candidates you vote for should at the very least align with your values and priorities, so that your voice is truly represented around the Council table

I want to share this recent article from the Upper Hutt Connection which outlines a new initiative being introduced by the CEO:

This Citizens’ Panel is designed to strengthen the way we engage and hear from our community, as just one improvement, and I’m hopeful it will be a positive step forward.

During the most recent Annual Plan process, I felt strongly that the rural community needed more opportunity for direct engagement, so I took the initiative to organise a meeting hosted at Simply Rural in Jupiter Grove. I was joined by our Chief Financial Officer, and the session was well attended and well received.

So yes, this is absolutely a key part of my platform for www.hellenformayor.com: real, meaningful community engagement.

The change we need, The voice you deserve.

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Authorised by Hellen Swales: hellenformayor@gmail.com