Happy New Year everyone. 2018 is set to be an exciting year and with luck, it will be the year that the whole of site civic space (aka Ponsonby Park) is funded - hooray!
The Waitemata Local Board (WLB) initiated the Community-led Design (CLD) process to find a community-led solution for the site at 254 Ponsonby Road. The CLD Group facilitated several communication streams and community engagements that led to the selection of the ‘LandLAB’ concept design.
The WLB presented ‘Ponsonby Park’ to the Governing Body (council) late last year as their priority project - aka their ‘One Local Iniative’ (OLI) - for regional funding by way of the Long Term Plan.
The LTP goes out for public consultation from 28 February - 28 March 2018
The community has been extensively involved in the creation of the ‘LandLAB’ chosen concept design for the whole of site open civic space that includes the redevelopment of part of the existing building for community requirements.
Over the past seven years the WLB has contributed to Auckland becoming a world-class city. And world-class cities have great civic spaces. ‘Ponsonby Park’, the WLB OLI priority project delivers a vision of such a space on Ponsonby Road - one that has already been over a decade in the making.
A brief history
• The ‘Ponsonby Open Space Study 2000’ Boffa Miskell report identified the need for a civic open space on Ponsonby Road.
• Auckland City Council purchased 254 Ponsonby Road in 2006 to create a civic open space on Ponsonby Road in anticipation of future growth and community needs. Since then the surrounding Ponsonby population has grown by 11% and the wider Waitemata area has grown by a remarkable 52%
• The project was set out in the WLB’s widely consulted Ponsonby Road Master Plan 2014-2044.
• Three concept plans prepared by council officers went to community consultation and included an option for a full site development. Consultation was held from September to December 2015 with 698 responses. 77% of the respondents chose a whole of site option. This provided a strong mandate to progress the project in this direction.
• Consequently, the WLB funded the CLD process, which was commenced at the end of 2015. The purpose being to empower the community through an innovative approach to build on the consultation feedback to develop a solution within the available resources.
• In early 2017, the design by LandLAB (one of 14 proposals submitted through a pro bono design process funded by the WLB) received strong public endorsement and was chosen by the community as the preferred concept design for the site (from a process that attracted over 1200 submissions).
So what next?
The WLB is strongly supporting the development of the ‘LandLAB’ concept design for 254 Ponsonby Road as it reflects the community’s aspirations. The board is now seeking funding to deliver the community’s vision through a staged approach, with funding for the first stage being sought from the LTP 2018 - 2028.
The community has strongly voiced the value of the full site, expressed under three themes:
• A place to sit and relax
• Green space
• A place for markets, events, play space, public art and sustainable design
Only a full site, open-space development achieves the effective integration of all the desired outcomes as well as delivering the economic and social benefits of a great civic space.
This first part of a staged approach would begin with the delivery of a civic and green space, the repurposing of the existing canopy structure (this area can be utilised for markets and events) and the development of public toilet facilities. In the short term, commercial use of the existing buildings would continue.
The repurposing of the existing building and streetscape improvements would then be undertaken in Stage 2 at a later date.
The WLB proposal is a fiscally responsible, effective, staged approach for which three rounds of public consultation have delivered overwhelming community support.
We are grateful for the foresight of the former ACC in purchasing 254 Ponsonby Road and the ongoing support and vision of the WLB. We now hope to finally have the site developed after a decade of indecision. The community’s vision responds to Waitemata’s significant growth and will create a world-class civic space.
The CLD process has been robust with community empowerment at its heart. Ponsonby Park - bring it on!
The CLD group will keep you informed about the LTP submission process via our website: www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz, through our Facebook page ‘Ponsonby Park’ and via our new on-site noticeboard. (JENNIFER WARD)