Plimmerton’s Big Spring Clean 2015 generates a huge haul

This year the spring clean, held on Sunday 29 November, focussed on specific zones. Taupo Crescent was one of the target areas with two sets of steps needing a total over haul to ready the area for a seat to be installed soon.

Robin Jones, Taupo Crescent Street co-ordinator, says, “Twenty two volunteers were working on Sunday, a great effort from a street with only 44 households! Both sets of steps now have freshly painted handrails and overhanging greenery has been trimmed back to make the steps safer, especially between Taupo Crescent and Pope Street. Earlier the steps had been water blasted so now it’s all looking ship shape. Plimmerton Residents’ Association will soon be installing a seat at the top of the street where residents and pedestrians will be able to relax and enjoy the views.”

Colin Bleasdale, chair of the association says, “Many bags of garbage and weeds were collected up from along the streets and around the shoreline. We thank everyone who volunteered. We also thank Plimmerton Fire Brigade who delivered our volunteers around the shoreline and our hosts Big Mac Slabs who turned on a spendid barbecue for the workers.”

Organiser of the event, David Verrinder, says, “A major effort was made to clean up along the Ara Harakeke walkway from Plimmerton to Mana and along the rail fence from the new Mana railway station north for several hundred metres. This area had not been touched for many years and was a real eye sore. Weeds were tall and thick and filled with wind-blown rubbish.”

Plimmerton residents, many of them gold card-holders, attached the area with weed eaters. The following day council staff removed a very heavily laden truck with the debris and cleaned up the area.

David says, “I keep supplies of bags and gloves for people who want to organise their clean ups in their own streets or area. We focussed on a few key areas this year but there is always room for others to contribute in their own time and way. For example, the stream in Plimmerton Domain could do with some attention and blackberry removal. The Ara Harakeke walkway north to Pukerua Bay and Ulric Street could also do with some tlc. We have a church youth group keen to do a pre-Christmas clean and six weeks ago a beach clean-up was organised by a Facebook group. People keen to do a local clean-up can organise supplies from me at plimmertonra@gmail.com”