Residents put their hands to work under the sun:.
Plimmerton Residents' Association chairperson Colin Bleasdale celebrates the day?s success For Clean Up Week Plimmerton local?s put in a huge effort to rid the area of litter, and ended the glorious day with an inspection of the local train station that has been closed to the public for nearly 30 years. Plimmerton Residents' Association chairperson Colin Bleasdale says the day was ?a fantastic success? with well over 100 people participating in the clean up. ?There was defiantly great community spirit today, with the fire brigade burning the sausages like normal. ?We cleared away a lot of rubbish around the bay, and small groups of people covered a large area,? says Mr Bleasdale. The Porirua City Council (PCC) played a helping hand in providing rubbish bags and carting away a large amount of green waste. ?There were tonnes of plastic along the motorway and on the beach where it gets washed up at high tide,? he says. The residents association was particularity thankful to 12 local business that donated prizes for the most enthusiastic participants of the clean up. The sausage sizzle was provided by Palmers Garden Centre. Following the scouring of Plimmerton for rubbish, locals moved onto the railway station open day to look through a long-locked-up railway station and see plans for its refurbishment. Project managers were on hand to discuss how locals can become involved. PCC Plimmerton Project Manager Ian Barlow says the Council originally wanted to demolish the 1940s train station in favour of five glass bus shelters. But following a community response work is set to start on the stations renewal in October. ?This is the result of the Council listening to the needs of the community, as opposed to something being imposed from above. ?Residents have said they want to keep the building,? says Mr Barlow. Keeping the history of the station intact and providing toilet and shopping facilities requires the good-will of the community to volunteer their time for renovation works. ?By having community volunteers we have shown the benefits of keeping the station are great and the costs of renovation are lower,? he says. The work will include a new roof and building structure funded by KiwiRail. Community volunteers will then paint and decorate the building. A lessee has been signed up for the major part of the building - this is a retailer who specialises in model railway equipment. They will also sell train tickets, drinks, snacks and newspapers. ?
