Wellsford's ASB branch recently closed due to low foot traffic, which has many locals upset as they now need to drive to Warkworth to visit a branch. The most affected are elderly people who cannot drive further afield or who are unable to use internet banking.

Coast to Coast Health in Wellsford has closed their after-hours medical support. Their nighttime on call GP service was the only one serving between North Shore and Whangarei. It used to run from 8pm to 9am each night. The service ended on 1st March.

The closure is believed to be due to several factors: ageing workforce; lack of funding; safety concerns for the staff and residence after a break in back in 2022 and recently an assault on a staff member.

Patients can still call the Wellsford clinic for a triage assessment by a nurse via phone.

In Warkworth the long-standing popular cafe Chocolate Brown is set to close for good before Easter. They officially close on the 28th of March. They are having a final sale on 23rd and 24th March, with everything heavily discounted, including Easter stock.

In Kaiwaka the local food bank (Te Pātaka o Kaiwaka), and OpShop has been burgled two times in 2 weeks and has had to close their doors. They provided food and other items to the local community when in need. They are unsure if or when they will open again, and potentially must upgrade their security.

Many of the stolen items were one-off donations from the producers or importers of the goods and from own very own community donors. Pictures of some of the stolen items shown.

Please email them if you know of anything related to this crime, [email protected]

Mangawhai business owners have seen increased traffic and business due to Brynderwyns closing. Some businesses are trying to capitalise on this by increasing their operating hours. There has unfortunately been an increase in theft reported also.

After a long hiatus the Mangawhai Toy Library in the Domain is set to open shortly. A great resource for families that can’t or don’t want to buy ongoing toys for kids, not to mention reducing the number of plastic toys floating around unnecessarily!

We would love to report on some good news that is happening in our community so it's not all doom and gloom! If you have anything you would like to share with our community, please email us at [email protected]