The good news rolls on!
The Community-Led Design (CLD) group sought clarification from the Waitematā Local Board in regard to the potential impact on Ponsonby Park of Auckland Council’s $230m capital deferment proposal.
The Waitematā Local Board met with council staff on Tuesday 14 June to discuss this issue. We were delighted to be advised soon after the meeting concluded that the news was all good!
“Council staff have now confirmed that Ponsonby Park is staying in the budget - as per the staged plan communicated recently.”
The communicated staged plan is that council will “… start progressing stage one at 254 Ponsonby Road. This will include budget for detailed design and community engagement in 2022/2023 being made available two years earlier than previously communicated, followed by consent and construction from 2023/2024 onwards”.
This is as the CLD group had hoped and expected given that the allocated and available funds for stage one of the project are from an endowment bequest property sale. Such funds have stringent rules attached to their use and disbursement. Additionally, any delay to the start of stage one would effectively reduce the value of the endowment funds, due to current levels of inflation.
This confirmation is also good news for climate mitigation with the climate action budget being supported by a clear majority of councillors at last month's meeting of the Finance and Performance Committee. The budget will be formally adopted by the governing body on 29 June. The climate action budget lays the foundation to deliver on the ambitious Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland's Climate Plan, and backs Auckland Council’s climate emergency declaration with resources to tackle the problem of climate change.
“This budget will lay the groundwork for the urgent action we need to take to avert a climate disaster and ensure a stable climate and a sustainable future for future generations,” said Mayor Goff.
Finance and Performance Committee Chair Councillor Desley Simpson said,“The ongoing impacts of Covid-19 and the increasingly uncertain economic environment have meant we had to make some hard calls and tough decisions with this budget… (but) we will continue to invest strongly in the essential services and infrastructure that Aucklanders value and rely on.”
Climate change is already impacting our city, delivering warmer temperatures as well as more intense and variable rainfall, as evidenced last month. Therefore it is important to build the resilience of our communities and infrastructure to meet these impacts, as well as creating a better environment for people who live and work here. Greening the city and our communities will help with this.
And it's not just our environment that will benefit from investment. We know that green spaces are a key contributor to people's wellbeing. They provide places for people to connect with each other and with nature. They provide places of rest and respite both to residents and workers. Incorporating natural elements into the built environment is a key action outlined in Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan.
Ponsonby Park will bring all of these benefits and many more. The rain garden will naturally filter surface water during heavy rainfall and will reduce pressure on storm drains thereby improving the water quality of the Waitematā harbour. New native and deciduous tree plantings will provide shade and shelter thereby reducing the urban heat island effect in summer.
Ponsonby Park will be a vibrant and bountiful place for everyone. It will be a significant part of transforming our neighbourhood and our city, to put people at its heart and make it greener, healthier and better for everyone.
So after 22 long years since the need for this civic amenity was first identified, work will finally begin on Ponsonby Park this month. Bring it on! (JENNIFER WARD)
For further information please see our www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz Or our Facebook page: @PonsonbyPark #ponsonbynews #iloveponsonby #ponsonby #auckland #aucklandshippestrip #onlyponsonby #ponsonbyroad #Greylynn #freemansbay #westmere #ponsonby #hernebay #stmarysbay #archhill #coxsbay #westernsprings