The St Mary’s Bay Association is a proactive group always anxious to address issues of concern in their suburb.
Many thousands of our Ponsonby News readers are concerned too, but the iconic Leys buildings are a central feature of the St Mary’s Bay landscape and residents like to call it their own. They use it very well too.
“The bottom line for us,” said David Abbott, “is that this building must be preserved. It is an important part of Ponsonby’s history and of Auckland’s heritage. Furthermore, the Deed of Gift under which it was given to the city must be honoured.”
The St Mary’s Bay Association understands the council’s need to consider health and safety matters, but concern over seismic resilience of the building is not new – it has been the subject of reports for some years. What is new, the association says, is that the latest report has made a dramatically different assessment from previous reports.
Abbott told Ponsonby News that “my community members who have read that report believe some of its conclusions are overly cautious and that effective and affordable measures are available to meet immediate health and safety needs pending discussions on more comprehensive long-term measures.”
The SMBA want an informed community discussion. “We have lost too much of our heritage and too many of our services,” Abbott told us. “Leys must remain. It is not for the developers’ knacker’s yard.”
All groups in the greater Ponsonby area are ready to work with the Waitemata Local Board and the council to ensure the long-term viability of Leys.
I told David Abbott that St Mary’s Bay is not alone in demanding urgent restoration of our iconic building. Thousands of Ponsonby News readers will be up in arms if the council was to propose demolition or a sale to a developer. (John Elliott)
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