It was the biggest story of the year and resulted in apologies from the mayor and a new chief executive describing it as a “mea culpa” the council would own. Mary Anne Gill, who covered the story all year, speaks to the man who took council on, and won.
Jared Milbank and Lorna Mitchell. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Jared Milbank, a quiet and unassuming man who would much rather walk his dogs with partner Lorna Mitchell and beaver away in his home office, is our Person of the Year.
When the couple read The News’ February 29 story with the headline ‘Put it there!’ Corridor for third bridge revealed’ they realised the house they had bought in Queen St less than three years before, was right in the middle of the Blue Blob, where a road to a bridge would go.
Put it there! Cambridge News February 29, 2024
“We couldn’t quite believe it, it’s like ‘they’re not going to bowl all the houses down here?’,” said Jared.
Lorna and Jared both rang The News for more information as they were unable to get any answers from the council.
It was the newspaper they relied on in those early days as no one had consulted with them before the announcement and in the days afterwards.
“We’ve learned a lot about the value of reading a local newspaper and it always surprises me to see them sitting (unread) in people’s letterboxes,” said Jared.
Cambridge News 19 December 2024
A campaign, led by Jared, with prodding and help from their neighbours resulted in an independent review and ended with a major council reset by year’s end.
“It was hard for people to know what to do,” said Jared.
“We had one of the neighbours came around to our place …. sat down on the sofa and said we need to actually do something.”
So, they agreed to start a Facebook group and send out flyers.
They could not believe the council planned to put a road through the most walkable area of the town – to carry 26,000 vehicles a day – creating a barrier on a project that was supposed to be about increasing walkability and biking.
Jared Milbank in Bryce Street where the road for the new bridge was to be built. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Jared became the reluctant public face, talking to council staff, councillors, community board chair Jo Davies-Colley and then to the community board on March 20 in the public forum.
Very few people knew him – other than the neighbours he met at earlier street Christmas parties and they saw in him someone who could take on the fight.
The neighbours’ stories were heartfelt – the couple who had bought a section and built their dream home, the retirees, the others who saw themselves living there the rest of their lives and then others with huge mortgages who saw the value of their properties plummet overnight.
The couple, both Kiwis, fell into another category owning a character house in an area affected by housing density changes.
They had been living in Melbourne in March 2020 when the Covid threat loomed.
“We thought it was going to last quite a while and we wanted to be back with family.
“We emptied out our apartment, put stuff in storage and got back here,” said Jared.
They moved in with Lorna’s mother on her lifestyle block in Kumeu. She had been unable to sell because a bypass – ironically also represented by a blue blob – was planned around the village. A window of opportunity came to sell, and she did.
In February 2021, they bought a house with a granny flat in Cambridge paying well above the odds in those heady days.
Once settled, their two dogs got them out walking, so they got to know Cambridge describing it as a “lovely place”.
“Every time we go anywhere there’s people to talk, people smile at you and it’s just such a nice place to be,” said Lorna
Both work from home – Jared is a specialist IT consultant for clients in Australia and Lorna does drug discovery research, managing people in labs around the world.
Jo Davies-Colley
At the community board public forum he calmly presented the neighbourhood’s case impressing Davies-Colley.
“During a stressful time for many in our town, Jared emerged as a composed and considered advocate for his community. He led the neighbourhood response to the Cambridge Connections plan, and we were impressed with his calm demeanour, depth of knowledge and respectful interactions with us,” she said.
“People were shocked like they had been in a car accident shocked,” said Jared. “Shocked in a sense like people that are going to do not rational things, and I don’t think the magnitude of that got read by the councillors who heard them.
“I’m glad I went first (at the community board) but some of the people who went after me were much less rational, but they were important too.”
Cambridge Connections drop in meeting, Bryan Hudson takes a question from the floor. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
The following night a drop in session – intended for people living in the Blue Blob area but attended by an estimated 500 people – descended into a farce.
The group got the blame from people in council at spreading the word about the session, but Jared rejects that saying he warned the council on the day not to go ahead with it.
“The mayor was incredibly brave to stand up and talk with all of that happening.
“She tried to talk to a crowd that was a mob, and she tried to address the mob. If it had been managed more carefully… it wouldn’t have got out of hand in the same way,” he said.
Susan O’Regan was “incredibly brave” to talk at the Cambridge Connections drop in meeting. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Wife Lorna says her husband is a fantastic researcher and good at keeping an open mind.
“Throughout this whole thing it would be very easy for him to have gotten angry and jumped up and down and be irrational. He stayed calm and rational.”
“You actually want to engage,” said Jared. “There were people who very much wanted to yell and not engage. I still felt engaging was the better route.”
Jared has three messages to Cambridge.
- Know your neighbours
- Know what’s going on by reading your local newspaper and downloading the council’s Antenno App
- Know who is on your community board; they are there to listen and advocate for you.
“Yes, I’ve done some stuff but there were people standing behind me… making sure I had enough gumption to do some of the things,” he said.
See: Community Comes First – Te Awamutu News Person of the Year
See: Put it there! Corridor for third bridge revealed
See: Goodbye, Mr Blobby
See: New CEO on first two months
See: Making connections
See: Council called the crisis team
Jared Milbank outside the Alpha Lodge in Queen Street. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
That’s enough, out of here, says Community Services manager Brad Ward at the Cambridge Connections drop in meeting. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
