Sunday 17 May was another in a welcome run of bright, clear autumnal days and perfect weather for the first Happy Birthday Te Rimutahi celebration, since the formal opening in 2025.
To commemorate this momentous occasion, the Community-Led Design Group (CLDG), which advocated for the creation of this new civic space for more than 13 years, held a small celebratory event on-site. We gave away delicious chocolate and ricciarelli cookies from Allpress Cafe, between 11 am and 12.30 pm.
And it was GREAT for members of the volunteer CLDG to be back on Ponsonby Road and formally interacting with the community again, just as we have done throughout ALL the long years of our advocacy work.
The overwhelming response was hugely positive, with people amazed that it had already been a year since the opening of Te Rimutahi! There were so many stories from people as to how they had made their submissions, had come along to our various activations and exhibitions, and the many ways they had, and continue to, interact and contribute through the long and sustained CLD process.
The 2015 initiation of the CLD process by the Waitemata Local Board was a bold and important move, as it meant devolving a lot of the decision-making for the project to the community. And it worked, not only by creating trust, engagement, and a GREAT RESULT (just look how good Te Rimutahi is), but also by empowering the community to know that their voice would be heard if they engaged. This is local democracy in action.
So at the May WLB business meeting, our CLDG Chair Chris Bailey made a presentation and requested that the community’s voice not be silenced or overlooked in the ongoing operational and administrative running of Te Rimutahi. He advocated for a continuation of the Community's inclusion in the ongoing decision-making for Te Rimutahi to ensure the community is not sidelined once again, as BAU reestablishes itself.
Since the opening of Te Rimutahi, the CLDG has continued to advocate for and to look after Te Rimutahi, pulling weeds, picking up litter, removing graffiti ourselves or requesting its removal, running the Facebook pages, and regularly posting on Instagram te_rimutahi_. We respond to inquiries and queries, direct people to the Council website for permits, and field complaints and concerns, and yet we have not been formally recognised as a key stakeholder. We asked who this benefits? We asked for this to change now.
Meanwhile, the previously unloved and dilapidated liquor store site at 254 Ponsonby Road has been completely transformed into a beautiful and multifunctional public space. Te Rimutahi is the common ground where everyone comes together to rest, relax, and recreate. Te Rimutahi is a place to meet new people and catch up with old friends, to enjoy some of the many activities, talks, events, and exhibitions that are already happening there. Te Rimutahi is an urban oasis that is good for the people, good for the environment, and good for Tāmaki Makaurau.
Bravo! See you at Te Rimutahi soon.
For more information or to contact the Community-Led Design Group, see our website 254ponsonbyrd.org.nz - Instagram te_rimutahi_ - Facebook Te Rimutahi or 254 Ponsonby Road. (Jennifer Ward)
