The Leys Institute Library and Gymnasium have now been mothballed for six months and are starting to look sad and neglected.
Consequently, Waitemata Local Board chairperson Richard Northey has urged residents to submit on the emergency budget, advocating for funding for the seismic strengthening of the Leys Institute and the return of library and
community services.
Many of the Friends of Leys Institute members have submitted feedback, and here are some of the concerns they have shared:
• It would be concerning if patronage of Little Leys was reduced significantly, enabling the council to put this forward as justification for delaying or reconsidering the earthquake strengthening of our library.
• The Council is very happy to spend excessive amounts of our money on the inner city rail loop and the America’s Cup, but is failing to address the core services the city needs, such as preserving community buildings, like the Leys Institute. That work should be given priority.
• My concern is that it will be left to rot like the Tongan Church buildings in Richmond Road.
• It’s a very old stratagem of local governments to mask their long-term ideological goals of lessening public amenities and placing public property in the hands of private speculators by panicking the public that financial catastrophe is imminent.
This is a real worry, when Finance Chair Desley Simpson stated in the Herald on 8 June “We will also need to look at how we manage our assets and consider selling buildings we can’t afford to keep”.
The presentation of a council draft report on options for community facilities in West Waitemata, including the Leys Institute has now been delayed from the 16 June Local Board meeting, until the 19 August meeting. Do keep letting the Waitemata Local Board and Councillor Pippa Coom know of your expectations for the Leys buildings at waitematalocalboard@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and pippa.coom@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Anyone interested in becoming a member of Friends of Leys Institute can email co-ordinator Helen Geary at heleng@maxnet.co.nz, and follow the Friend of Leys Institute Facebook page.