Good Neighbour Guide Coming Our Way
Agencies throughout the region have come together to help neighbours get along with each other a little better.
Later this month a good neighbour guide called Keeping Peace with the Joneses will be launched by New Plymouth District Council, with tips and information on everything from property-related bylaws to mediation services to how to approach neighbours about a problem.
“It’s a practical guide that can help people resolve a variety of issues that frequently crop up between neighbours,” says Manager Customer and Regulatory Services Simon Pickford.
“The booklet is a first port of call for anyone who has a problem and isn’t sure what they can do about it.”
The guide is thought to be a first in New Zealand, as it comprises information from a variety of agencies: NPDC, Taranaki Regional Council, New Plymouth Police, Neighbourhood Support, Taranaki Community Law Service, Department of Labour, New Zealand Fire Service and the Citizens Advice Bureau
“It’s that multi-agency approach that is unique,” says Mr Pickford.
“It’s also what makes the guide so handy because regardless of what the problem is – whether it relates to a Council bylaw or Government legislation – the relevant advice is all in this one place.”
The guide covers how to approach neighbours, when to seek the help of a council, the police or a mediation service, and how to set up a Neighbourhood Support Group.
There is also specific advice on the more frequent neighbourhood issues that crop up, including:
Boundaries and encroachments.
- Buildings and activities.
- Dogs.
- Earthworks.
- Easements and right-of-ways.
- Fences.
- Fires in urban areas.
- Graffiti.
- Keeping animals.
- Noise.
- Stormwater.
- Swimming pools.
- Trees.
- Waahi tapu and archaeological sites.
Copies of Keeping Peace with the Joneses will be available from Monday 27 July at the Civic Centre, Puke Ariki and district libraries, NPDC’s Community Development Office in the TopTown complex, Neighbourhood Support and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau.
The guide is online now at www.newplymouthnz.com/GoodNeighbourGuide.