It’s a small action, but one that adds up. More importantly, it’s encouraging students to see the city as something they’re responsible for, not just passing through.

A big thank you
A huge shout-out goes to the local cafés supporting the programme - Volco, Aro Bake, Tuatua Cafe, and Lunch Money - thank you for supporting this! Your sponsorship helps turn a moment of civic pride into a warm drink and a place to pause. It’s so great to see local businesses backing initiatives that look after our shared spaces, especially in these challenging times.

If you happen to visit one of the participating cafés, you might like to let them know you appreciate what they’re supporting.

Every little bit matters
Even if you never pick up a piece of rubbish for a discount, it’s nice to know there are small, quiet efforts happening around the city to keep Wellington looking like the place we all love to live.

Your feedback is needed by the end of Sunday 1 February to enable our submission to be made by 7 February 2026.

• Stage 1 – 5 to 7 January (Cuba Street footpath works)

• Stage 2 – 8 to 16 January (Cuba → Marion)

• Stage 3 – 19 to 27 January (Cuba → Victoria)

Read what’s involved here!

We’ve had a go at summarising the info and have provided links here.

What jobs do they have on the Council? And - while campaigning - this is what they said they wanted to do.

Residential buildings webinar - Tuesday 11 November 12 - 1pm
You will need to register by clicking on the link below.  You will be sent the link to the online meeting.  You can also email questions in advance to MBIE and ask questions online during the webinar.  Emailing your questions in advance to MBIE will help identify areas of interest to multiple owners and should inform the content of the webinar.
Join our EPB webinar on residential buildings on 11 November at 12pm
_________

There are two other webinars presented by MBIE that may be of interest to you and others. 

Commercial buildings, Tuesday 18 November 10-11am
Join our EPB webinar on commercial buildings on 18 November at 10am

Engineers
The recording of this webinar is available. This has some technical information and questions targeted at engineers, but not too much and is interesting. 

Read their responses here (updated as we receive them)

Kia ora koutou

You may have seen the livestreaming of the PM and Minister's announcements of the Seismic Review decisions.  

Here is a link to the key papers on MBIE's website with Steering Group report, cabinet paper, etc.

I haven't read the papers yet, but the announcements seem to reflect a targeted, proportionate system that align with the key points made by Minister at BCCG.  

There will be questions arising as we read the papers, announcements.  Make a note of those and send through to this email.  We are unlikely to have the answers but will be useful to see what the questions are and will help identify areas that need to be clarified.

We will follow-up with MBIE to schedule an ICW meeting where officials can present and respond to questions.  

Regards,

Geraldine Murphy
Spokesperson on Seismic Matters
0274 507804

The Government is scrapping the earthquake-prone building standards system, replacing it with a new regime while ditching seismic rules for whole cities and regions.

The significant changes will mean about 2900 buildings stickered as earthquake prone will no longer be considered a risk by the Government - about 55% of the buildings in the system.

To achieve this, the New Building Standard (NBS) rating system will be replaced with a new scheme by the end of the year.
Read more

(Legislation will be brought to Parliament next year.)

Kia ora Te Ngākau neighbour,
Here’s the latest information on everything going on in Te Ngākau Civic Precinct:

Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui – rededication ceremony and a first look inside 

Following the recent practical completion of Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, the building was blessed in the early hours of Saturday 13 September with a tohi tāngaengae (rededication) ceremony led by our mana whenua partners and tohunga (tikanga experts). 

Four artist-commissioned rawa were also unveiled and a dedicated website launched. Check out the website for a glimpse inside the new building and to learn more about the co-design process. The rawa are large-scale commissioned artworks by mana whenua artists, and include the poem “Brown Optimism” by J.C. Sturm, which has been placed on the southern facade. 

The fit-out of Te Matapihi continues, and the hoarding and fences on Harris and Victoria Streets will be removed in December. Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui will reopen with a celebration on 14 March 2026, and this will mark the beginning of the reawakening of Te Ngākau Civic Precinct.  

Te Ngākau Annex - construction prep has begun 

Progress on the Town Hall is now well ahead of schedule, with construction completion due in July 2026. This is eight months earlier than expected when the Council increased funding in October 2023 and the project was re-planned. 

The Town Hall front-of-house facilities will be provided via an Annex building which will feature a relatively lightweight timber frame and will use the existing MOB foundations to help keep costs down.  

Now that the demolition of MOB is complete, our contractor has started preparing the site for construction of the Annex. We are expecting some construction noise from October to December as we prepare the foundations to receive the timber structure. Our construction partner has dropped this letter to nearby businesses and residents with an update on the Annex project. 

Harris street upgrade 

We are upgrading Harris Street to provide a safer environment for pedestrians, library users, and Police operations. These improvements were consulted on as part of a Traffic Resolution and approved by the Council on August 28th. These improvements will begin in October and will be completed by March 2026. From December to March 2026 Harris Street will be one-way, with only the eastbound lane open to vehicles. There will also be changes to car parks and pedestrian routes temporarily during the construction period.

Maps showing the work are available here, and a video of the work plan is here.  

Plaza landscaping 

Landscaping work in the plaza continues, and is due to be completed by March 2026 before the opening of Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui.  

City to Sea Bridge 

This project is currently paused as we await the central government announcement on the review of the earthquake-prone building system.  

Contact us & more information  

If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at TeNgakau@wcc.govt.nz and the right WCC team member will get back to you. Get the latest information and sign up for our email updates at wellington.govt.nz/te-ngakau.   

Ngā mihi,   
WCC Te Ngākau team 

We’ve created this new page on our website to list some of the places where data lives.

This is one of the places.

Infometrics quarterly reports
The folks at Infometrics share interesting and extensive quarterly information, supported by the Wellington City Council. Here’s the info for the quarter that ended on June 2025.

ICW had the opportunity to talk to this WCC committee on Thursday (4 Sept 2025).

This is what we talked about.

12 Candidates - fast-changing and unpredictable times - who’s up for the challenge to lead our city?
Don’t stare at your voting paper wondering who these people are. Come and meet them. Then you’ll know.
Thu 11 Sept. 6pm-7.30pm. St Peter’s on Willis.
It’s free! Get your ticket here or just came along on the night