Wellington commuters can expect more disruption on the beleaguered Transmission Gully, as work`s done to patch up a stretch of the Lower North Island highway for up to half a year. The Transport Agency is planning to re-surface and rebuild several kilometres of the road north of Porirua, likely meaning lane closures during the day, and full closures at night. The work`s forecast to go from roughly October until March. It comes just three and a half years after the $1.25 billion highway opened after years of delays, and relates to a legal battle with one of the road`s builders over unfinished work and quality issues. The agency settled the matter out of court. NZTA Regional Manager Mark Owen said the work`s not unexpected, but part of the road has deteriorated faster than expected, and concedes it will be frustrating for drivers over virtually the entirety of summer. `At the moment there are some sections that are a little bit rough, and the chipsealing`s not always the most waterproof,` he said. `[The road] was finished acceptable for people to use, but it wasn`t complete.` NZTA is still finalising its plan for the work, and is expected to announce a schedule and cost over the coming week or so. Owen concedes it`s frustrating and asks drivers to be patient, but sees this as the last major hiccup before the highway`s finally completed. `It`s going to take a little bit of time ... we`ve got an intensive programme to fix it so it lasts its life cycle.` A proposal for Transmission Gully`s speed limit to be increased to 110km/hr is also being considered, but would likely have to wait until after this work. Read...

One of Wellington’s most successful breweries, Fortune Favours, is ending operations and closing its brew bar only a day after winning first place at the country’s biggest beer festival.  After nearly a decade brewing in the capital, owners Shannon Thorpe and Dale Cooper announced the business was no longer financially sustainable.  “Unfortunately, the cost of living crisis has proven too difficult for us to navigate. We’re down 20% on last year, which was already 25% down on the year before,” a post on the company’s social media read.  Since starting in 2016, the company has brewed over 500 unique blends, including New Zealand’s strongest beer.  On Tuesday, its Wairarapa IPA was named the top-praised beer at Wellington’s Beervana event.  The inner-city brewpub on Leeds St will close its doors for the final time on August 31.  “We’ve loved our 8 years here [...] without your support Fortune Favours would not be the brand that it is,” the post said.  Fortune Favours craft beer bar featured on a Wellington craft beer tour. Photo / Nicola Edmonds  The brewery started when Thorpe quit his day job to move to the capital with his young family to start brewing craft beer. Award-winning brewer Cooper then joined and the business expanded, winning awards in New Zealand and Australia and being stocked around the country.  The pair also opened a bar in Wellington Airport in 2019.  In 2022, the brewery made a splash with its Hyper Fuel brew, the strongest beer in the country at 31% ABV.  Fortune Favours’ move is just the latest in a string of recent sector closures.  A number of popular hospitality venues have shut up shop in the capital over the past year, citing a range of factors including the public sector cuts, loss of car parks, and general economic conditions.  Craft breweries across the country from Brothers Beer to Deep Creek, Epic Brewing and Boneface Brewing have all faced financial trouble in recent years.  It also comes as new economic figures show 177 Wellington businesses closed down in the year to the end of the June quarter.  Business counts, meaning the number of business units in an area, is down -2.3% in the capital, a greater drop than the country’s average of 0.9%.  Infometrics principal economist Nick Brunsdon said the capital’s struggles “in large part stems from the cuts in the public sector”.  Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.  Read...

The young child was found a few hours after she was reported missing. Read...

Stephanie-Anne Spooner, also known as `Missy`, was last seen on Thursday morning. Read...

Last weekend, the Wellington brewery was the toast of Beervana. This weekend will be their last in business. Read...

Fortune Favours has announced it will shut its doors for good on Sunday. Read...

Police confirmed to Stuff on Thursday that the item turned out to be a beeping smoke alarm that someone had thrown into a public rubbish bin. Read...

The brewery has blamed the pub closure on the cost of living crisis, saying it’s just not sustainable. Read...

Faamatala Sili watched CCTV footage of the moment he jumped as it was shown to a jury at the High Court in Wellington. Read...

There were some cordons in place, however these are about to be stood down, as the item of concern has now been confirmed as safe, a police spokesperson said Read...