The Community-Led Design team was saddened to hear of the death of John Elliott last month.
As the founder of, and an ongoing and passionate contributor to the Ponsonby News, John was a dedicated community and neighbourhood advocate.
We would have loved for John to have seen the realisation of Ponsonby Park. We extend our condolences to John’s whanau and friends. May he rest in peace.
Ponsonby Park, amongst all the many other things it will provide, will be a place for contemplation and remembrance of those that have passed on.
On a happier note, the budgeted funds for the development of stage one of Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road, are now available and work is already well underway. The procurement team sent out the RFPs (Request for Proposal) last month for the development and realisation of the (LandLAB Park+) concept design and this month the design studio will be chosen.
Later this month, our Community-Led Design team will meet with the senior project manager again to be updated on the progress and the planned timeline for the project. We will continue our ongoing community engagement and advocacy work as the project progresses and we will keep you updated.
Despite the restrictions that Covid-19 continues to place on us all with new sub-variants, plus the usual seasonal influenza season taking a heavier than usual toll on people’s health, we are hopeful that we will soon be able to host some in-person events again. These will be done to re-establish our community presence and to re-engage with all our supporters, who are always eager to know what’s happening and when. And of course, we’ll keep our monthly updates in the fabulous Ponsonby News - Thank you Martin.
We are SO thrilled to be underway at last!
And who wouldn’t be? As Steve Armitage, the interim CEO of Central Auckland business association Heart of the City said, “There is strong evidence that public space projects attract more people and investment over time.” Just what Ponsonby needs and what Ponsonby Park will provide.
And if you're interested to know more, our website holds a wealth of information about our Community-Led Design work over the many years that it has taken to get Ponsonby Park underway. From the first report commissioned in 2000, which clearly showed the need for the new civic space, to the establishment of our Community-Led Design group in 2016 by the Waitematā Local Board (thanks WLB), to where we are today - underway and preparing stage one of the development for action.
In the meantime - get excited! Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road is underway.
Bring it on! (JENNIFER WARD)
Check out the journey so far on: www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz
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