Take a walk down Fergusson Drive in Upper Hutt to ask locals about the big issues and you will probably be told “potholes”.
It’s a problem that frequently pops up at council meetings and on social media.
The main arterial road is due for a major $6m revamp, that may include a much-needed cycling lane, to fix the dreaded potholes, but with an election looming candidates have some much bigger issues to mull over.
Housing, a merger with near neighbours Hutt City and the future of their central business district are three topics that could dominate the next term.
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* Former Upper Hutt CBD bank marked for transitional housing centre
For Wellingtonians heading to Martinborough for the weekend, it is all too easy to by-pass Upper Hutt and its growing population of 46,000.
Driving on River Rd you get little sense of the scale of the change that has occurred in the city over the past five years.
Unlike the rest of the region, Upper Hutt has a surplus of flat land that has sparked massive development in housing and projects, like the $100m plus sports hub.
KEVIN STENT
Upper Hutt’s business district feels like a 1970s provincial town.
The sports hub gives a good indication of how much change there is…
