The 2019 Kāpiti Major Events Fund, offered through the Kāpiti Coast District Council’s economic development programme, has opened for applications to run events that have a unique Kāpiti flavour and will help bring visitors to the District.

Council approved a $40,000 addition from its economic development budget to the contestable fund this week, bringing the amount available to support events that will build the Kāpiti District’s long-term economy to $200,000.

Kāpiti Coast District Council Economic Development Manager Darryn Grant says the Council has also updated the application criteria this year to help make it more clear for applicants what types of events might be successfully selected for financial support.

“The additional funds in the pool this year mean we can look at supporting new or bigger events that show the potential to be self-sustaining in future years and bring long-term benefit to the District,” Mr Grant says.

“We’re definitely hoping to see some fresh ideas as well as continuing to build events that have already become iconic ones in Kāpiti.

“We’re keen to hear what innovative ideas are out there to showcase and profile the Kāpiti Coast and its community and in particular, attract visitors in the off-season between April and October.

“Our goal is to build a diverse calendar of events that attracts visitors, adds vibrancy to our communities and ultimately provide a return on investment for the local economy,” he says.

A maximum funding level has been set for the major event category which event organisers can apply for, spreading available funds across a range of event types and activities. This includes an allowance for events that are at the conceptual stage and require feasibility studies to get them off the ground.

Over the past three years eight Kāpiti events have received funding support, including the Kāpiti Food Fair, the Maoriland Film and Ōtaki Kite festivals, Coastella and the Kāpiti Coast Jazz Festival.

The full criteria and information about how to make an application are on the Council’s website. Applications close on Wednesday 24 July at midday.

The fund was established by the Council in 2016 to help develop and grow signature events on the Kāpiti Coast, with event development identified as a key driver in achieving long-term economic development in the District.

Final decisions about which events will receive funding will be made by the Council on 8 August 2019.

www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/majoreventsfund

Responding to climate change and sea level rise a priority for Council

The Kāpiti Coast District Council is gearing up to have a community conversation about what it might need to do to help Kāpiti Coast communities thrive in the face of climate change and coastal erosion or sea level rise.

Mayor K Gurunathan says the impacts of climate change are significant and we can no longer afford to sit on our hands.

“As a coastal community with more than 1,800 properties, not to mention businesses and public infrastructure, potentially affected along our 42 kilometres of coastline, we know we need to take action.

“At the heart of this is a conversation with our iwi partners, affected and interested parties, and our community about how we want to adapt as our coastline changes over time.

“We’ve studied the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy, a community-led coastal adaption programme which has worked well in the Hawkes Bay, and we think there are elements of this approach that could be applied to a community-led conversation in Kāpiti and across the wider Wellington region.

“There’s a lot of ground to cover and we know people will have mixed views about how, when and what actions might be needed but we’re committed to starting a substantial, careful and respectful community conversation about how we respond, as a community, to coastal challenges over the next 12 to 18 months.”

The Mayor says the Greater Wellington Regional Council has indicated that they would like to be part of this conversation.

“It makes sense to join forces and share resources where we can, as Greater Wellington, as our regional consenting authority, has a vested interest in our environment and providing an effective response to climate change.”

Working towards carbon neutrality by 2025

Kāpiti Coast District Councillors agreed yesterday to reaffirm the Council’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025, after considering some of the potential ways it could get there.

Deputy Mayor Janet Holborow says reducing emissions and becoming carbon neutral is part of the Council’s response to climate change.

“Having declared a Climate Change emergency this concrete goal is a real opportunity to identify practical steps we can take as an organisation and as a role model in our community to be environmentally responsible.

“The Council has already significantly reduced its carbon emissions by implementing changes to how it manages the treatment of wastewater and the types of fuel it uses,” said the Deputy Mayor.

“Further investigation is needed to identify what additional steps we need to take. This includes looking at options such as joining a carbon neutral certification scheme, replacing some of the Council’s fleet vehicles and planting trees to further reduce and offset carbon emissions.”

The goal of carbon neutrality relates to the net carbon emissions produced by Council’s activities. Net carbon emissions refer to the total amount of carbon emitted minus any offsets. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, Council will need to offset all of its unavoidable carbon emissions, so that its net emissions amount to zero.

Group Manager Corporate Services Mark de Haast says further investigation is needed to inform the development of a plan for the Council to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.

“The plan will need to identify feasible initiatives and any additional resource requirements for Councillors and the community to consider as part of the 2021-41 long term plan process,” he said.

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