Highcliff Road Closure

Highcliff Road Closure Map full size

Work to repair parts of Highcliff Road affected by slips will begin on 17 July, requiring its closure from Camp Road to Seaton Road until 29 September, with residents-only access.

Specific access details:

  • Seal Point Road will be accessible from Pukehiki by residents only. A road closure will be located after the driveway on the Portobello side of 1165 Highcliff Road
  • residents on Highcliff Road above the township of Portobello will have access via Portobello. A road closure will be located on the Portobello side of 1299 Highcliff Road
  • Sandymount Road will not be accessible from Highcliff Road. All resident access will be via Allans Beach Road/Hoopers Inlet Road.

The project will repair damage caused by three slips ‑ two of which occurred during a storm event in 2015 and another took place earlier this year ‑ as well as improving the road’s resilience and general safety.

An assessment of Highcliff Road indicates that the landslips occurred due to a combination of steep topography, and poor drainage, as might be expected on a road that was cut into the hillside well over 100 years ago. Culverts in the road closure zone will be replaced as part of this project to bring them up to standard, and the remaining low-risk culverts along other sections of Highcliff Road will be replaced over the next four years as part of general maintenance work.

For more information please click here. 

Hawked and Hurled October 2015

Grabbing a bargain

Strong winds, torrential rain and the All Blacks playing France in the Rugby World Cup did not bode well for Hawk & Hurl on Sunday October 18th. However, the weather quickly improved and the All Blacks won handsomely, so the Hawk & Hurl brightened considerably. There was a brisk trade in donated and reused items, and a few people managed some real bargains. Once again the Portobello Community Incorporated team put in the effort helping people unload and salvaging scrap and other items from refuse.

It was great to have Michelle Ritchie in Portobello giving people on composting, bokashi and worm farms as a way to reduce material going to landfill. Another new group at the Hawk & Hurl was the Otago Peninsula Food Network who were running a seed swap event and giving people information about the group.

This was the first DCC Rural Skip Day that had a designated vegetation rubbish skip. There are substantial savings to locals in refuse fees in using this service, but we still need to get some information out there about how we can keep this material compostable and un-contaminated. Overall, we had a pretty successful day, look forward to seeing people at the next one in February.

Hawked & Hurled 2015

Bangers & BaconOnce again the Hawk & Hurl went without a hitch on Sunday with the local community cleaning up their yards and taking the time to find a bargain or two. The scrap collection went well and a truck load of scrap kept out of the landfill and sold. Many thanks to John Clearwater for supplying the truck and driver.  With all the proceeds going to the recently relocated Peninsula Toy Library this event has grown steadily as a great chance to recycle, grab a bargain and meet up with your neighbours and friends.

From Trash to Treasure

Portobello Domain

Sunday 19th dawned bright but fresh for the Portobello Hawk & Hurl held at Portobello Domain and once again the event was well attended. There were plenty of bargains, a fair bit of cheek and a significant amount material saved from landfill on the day. Many people have things they no longer want or can use and by bringing them to the Hawk & Hurl they can see those things transferred to a new owner for re-use. It’s a great place to pay $10 for a child’s bike, buy recycled building materials, cheap furniture, tools and every other weird thing you can imagine. The other great initiative of the event is the scrap collection. Portobello Inc. will take any scrap metal off people’s hands and use the proceeds for the community group we’re working for. This year our proceeds from the Hawk & Hurl are going to the Portobello Toy Library as they look to relocate to new premises at the Portobello Domain pavilion. The Otago Peninsula have many generous people who support their community and a special thanks goes to Dave Murphy Fencing who  supplied a truck for all the recycled metal. Thanks Dave, that man deserves a beer! To all the residents who donated goods and scrap as well the team from Portobello Community Incorporated for working on the day many thanks for your efforts and we’ll see you again in February 2015. (Click on the pictures to see full size)

Portobello Jetty Pontoon Repairs

Moving out of the Bay

The Portobello pontoon has been towed by tug back to the Birch Street wharf for repairs. Over recent months the pontoon has developed a list and the City Council will have the pontoon inspected for leaks. Staff from Action Engineering pumped the pontoon out and released the collar so that it could be towed. Portobello local, Trevor Restiaux was in charge of the tug Kapu taking the pontoon back to the city. With the current tide and depth of water the tug only had a narrow window of two hours to complete the removal. The Portobello jetty and pontoon have become an important facility for the township and a significant amount of fundraising was undertaken by Portobello Community Inc to see the project to completion. It’s not known what the cause of the leaks are, but it is hoped that the pontoon will be returned to Portobello by October.