On 19 January 2022 Council provided our Community-Led Design (CLD) group with a new timeline for, and information about, the process for a staged development of Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road.
We are delighted to share the good news from this official response…the Waitematā Local Board, at a workshop in December 2021, confirmed support for a staged approach to the redevelopment of 254 Ponsonby Road and staff will progress the project on this basis.
Budget will be allocated in Financial Year 2022/2023 for planning elements of the project including detailed design and community engagement; this is two years earlier than previously communicated. Funds for construction will be made available from Financial Year 2023/2024 onwards.”
It was back in March 2016 that the Waitematā Local Board first embarked on the CLD process to establish Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road. They did so to ensure the creation of an urban space that matched the needs of the local residents, businesses, and visitors. This month our volunteer CLD group will have been working for seven years to achieve the new civic space so we are thrilled Council has provided the new and revised timeline for the realisation of the project.
We congratulate both the Waitematā Local Board and Auckland Council for their vision and foresight. By returning to a staged approach and bringing forward the development by two years, work on Ponsonby Park will commence in 4 months. This will be a great outcome for everyone.
By all metrics, the CLD process has been hugely successful and has resulted in the international award-winning* LandLAB, Park+ design. Our thanks to LandLAB and everyone who has participated in the process to date.
The design (concept images featured on this page) includes;
- The Park (a grassed lawn and gardens, 1410 m2)
- The Pavilion (outdoor sheltered area, 222 m2)
- The Plaza and lane (outdoor paved area, 807 m2)
- O’Neill Street upgrade (734 m2)
- New building (190 m2)
- Public toilet block (60 m2)
- Refurbished lighthouse (1st-floor feature, 120 m2)
In a world still reeling from the impacts of Covid, social connectedness is increasingly important and relevant. Ponsonby Park will be the common ground that enables everyone to come together to rest, relax and recreate. A place to meet new people or catch up with old friends, to enjoy some of the many activities, exhibitions & markets that the civic space will host.
These are the very things that build and nurture a community and are why Ponsonby Park is precisely the infrastructure and amenity the community has shown they want and need. The development of Ponsonby Park will create a new focus for the neighbourhood and it will be an attractor to the Ponsonby area that will support and help revitalise our local businesses too.
The Ponsonby Park development will commence in four months - exciting!
*In November 2018 LandLAB’s Park+ design won the international ‘World Architecture News – Future Civic category’ award. It was also shortlisted at the prestigious ‘World Architecture Festival’ in the “Future Civic’ category. (and we look forward to the project winning the completed award in the future too!) (JENNIFER WARD)
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Published 4 March 2022