Community Resilience

Looking at all the great things suggested during our meeting in July, we noticed three major themes. Another way to look at these is as three broad responses to the statement “Thorndon is…”

A VIBRANT PLACE – There’s a lot going here – great cafes and restaurants like Mojo, Café Classic and the Chippery, a bustling daytime population of professionals and young students (five schools!), and of course the historic character and local Marae add to a living heritage of Thorndon past and present.

WELL CONNECTED – With a conflux of the motorway, rail, footpaths and bus routes, we’re able to get around within our community with relative ease, as well as easily connect to other parts of the region.

A GREAT PLACE TO RELAX – As the work-day bustle quietens down in the evening and on weekends, Thorndon/Pipitea locals have lots of great places to unwind and relax. With an abundance of well-kept green-spaces like Katherine Mansfield Park and the Botanical Gardens within easy walking distance, and other connecting walks are a hallmark of living here.

Taken together, these best kept secrets paint part of the picture of ‘our place’; where we can meet for events, business, or just to catch up over a bite or a coffee. It’s a place where folk proudly point to history, as well as look to new opportunities and a modern experience. In short, it’s a great place!

The challenge now is to take something great and imagine how it could be even better. Some of the ideas you contributed to on the night included:

• Promoting what resources are available through newsletters
• Refresh and promote Community Response Plans
• Community meetings with interesting speakers
• Welcome packs for new residents
• Pursue historic buildings ratings
• Improve heritage pathways – better lighting and events
• Community gardens
• Develop local social media

The highest amount of interest fell on three ideas. While all the ideas listed are potentially powerful routes to building better community cohesion, many people at the workshop found the following three to be great places to start:

Micro-planning/zoning: Getting to know our strengths and needs at a much more high-definition level; as parts of streets, or small neighbourhood clusters of residences, or apartment blocks.

Special Interest Groups: Creating a forum for people with specific skill sets and knowledge like tradespeople, doctors and nurses, vets and so on that live in Thorndon/Pipitea.

Broadcasting Local Resources: Using local lines of communication like the TRA website and newsletter to share information about local response resources.

Though there was limited time on the night we did share a lot. Often we have further reflections and ideas afterwards, so please share these with us. And if you would like to join in the planning on our Residents’ Committee, please do accept this open invitation.

• Five schools (primary and secondary) and day care and kindergartens
• Secure power (underground)
• Has the Thorndon Residents Association, Thorndon Historical Society, Thorndon Fair, Thorndon Farmers Market
• Many homes and buildings are recognised by Heritage New Zealand and have been plaqued by the Thorndon Historical Society
• Large supermarket
• Scenic, vibrant, connected, historic, safe, central, well resourced
• Ease of access to national Library, Archives, concerts at the churches, church services, bars and restaurants, cafes
• Access to Te Ahumairangi Hill (formerly Tinakori Hill) for hiking and walks
• Starting to build resilience as a community – first steps
• Mobile residents as well as long standing residents
• Hub for transport exits and entries (motorway, Thorndon Quay, railway, ferry)
• Heavily connected to people from outside Thorndon/Pipitea during the day