This meeting was held on 19^th May 2025 at the Community Lounge, St Thomas’s Church, 200 Riddiford St. These were some of the topics discussed – see the full minutes for more details.

Newtown Parking Plan update
Most attendees have applied for Residents’ Parking Permits without any problems, although two people had an issue with finding acceptable proof of address. The Newtown East parking changes will start on June 24^th.

Local Body Elections – Meet the Candidates Meetings
Captain Andrew Wilson, of the local Salvation Army, spoke with the meeting. TSA are happy to assist with the democratic process by hosting Candidate Meetings at their Hall at 4 Normanby St.

The meetings will be held on Monday evenings – 25th August for Greater Wellington Regional Council, 1st September Wellington City Council Paekawakawa/ Southern Ward and Māori Ward candidates,  and 8th September for candidates for Mayor of Wellington.

Wellington Heritage Festival – October 18th till November 9th
Paul Forrest is keen to repeat his talk about the history of the Town Belt and the associated walk. People at the meeting were also interested in another exhibition of Newtown historic photos. The Gallery at 247 Riddiford St was suggested as a venue – the Rice Pudding Gallery used last year is already booked. 

Newtown Issues and Concerns
Duncan McLean (Duncan McLean Denim)  and Paige Simoneau (Black Coffee) of the Newtown Business Group addressed the meeting.

Duncan talked about the clean-up Newtown events that the business group have organised with the MPs Office and WCC, and the difficulty of keep the streets clean. He also talked about how the increased number of rough sleepers is challenging. He called on all to work together and work on supporting each other.
He noted that the Council has $10 million dollars in the LTP Budget for Suburban Centre upgrades. Newtown and Johnsonville are likely contenders – and Duncan advocates for Newtown having priority.

Paige described the mahi she has undertaken with business and community organisations, including the ‘Newtown Consortium’ public meetings. She said they are organising workshops, including ‘Eyes On’ training for businesses at Newtown Community Centre on 22 and 26 May https://ourcbd.co.nz/, to address challenges with interacting with some in the street community. There could  be more de-escalation workshops coming up which could be available to residents as well as organisations. Paige emphasised that Police and Council encourage everyone to report concerns; businesses can register with ‘Eyes On’ for reporting, others can report to the Police (111 or 105 if not so urgent) or Council – either Fixit or a phone call.

Andrew Wilson, Salvation Army, added his experiences, including the resources at their large local site. He talked about his background with Salvation Army work in different areas.
The issues of concern in Newtown are systemic and it will take many years to fully resolve, but there are things that can be done in the meantime. Giving people respect and humanity is the first stage to getting them back on track. De-escalation is a complicated challenge, but can be summarised as: Acknowledge; Engage and explain effects; Suggest consequences. It is important not to take a negative interaction personally.
It is also a good idea to have a plan, particularly one that tamariki can learn to apply when walking down the street, on their own or in groups, if they feel intimidated – eg, take shelter in a nearby shop.

The vacant site at 198 Adelaide Rd
This is the former TipTop site next to Woolworths Supermarket. The site was bought by a developer, but their proposal for housing didn’t get Resource Consent from WCC- the rumour was that this was because the proposal was for a relatively low-rise development in an area zoned high rise. The site is now going to be used as a car park, which will provide extra parking for hospital parking.
This solves a parking problem but it is unfortunate that it doesn’t help with the extra housing we want for Newtown. It is noted that the Ferguson Street Ioane Vito Centre is for sale – that would be an excellent place for a housing development.