Tag: Auckland University

Colin Maiden Park to come under Public Ownership

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Colin Maiden Park transferred from Private to Public Ownership

 

Good news after a long campaign to have Colin Maiden Park in Tamaki converted over from private ownership (University of Auckland) to public ownership (Auckland Council).

From Auckland Council on the transfer:

Colin Maiden Park to stay in public ownership

 

Auckland Council has added Colin Maiden Park in St Johns to its parks network, ensuring this open space and sports field complex remains in public ownership and available to the people of Auckland forever.

The unconditional agreement with the University of Auckland means that the 20 hectare park will be taken over by council early next year, which allows the university to focus on plans for its new developments in the city centre and Newmarket. The park is being acquired for $60.7m.

Mayor Len Brown says this is one of the most significant urban park acquisitions in Auckland’s history and council’s decision to acquire the park will ensure that Aucklanders have access to this asset forever.

“We have acquired Colin Maiden Park for the people who use and enjoy it every day of the week, whether they are from Glen Innes, Glen Eden or Glenfield. We can all be proud that the last major piece of private open space on the isthmus has been retained for the people of Auckland,” he says.

 

The Chair of council’s Parks, Recreation and Sport Committee, Councillor Christine Fletcher, reflected on the significance of this decision to the community.

“Together with the netball centre and Ngahue Reserve, this decision creates an incredible 44 hectare sports and open space complex for Auckland. This rivals Western Springs or the Domain for scale and significance,” says Cr Fletcher.

Orakei Local Board Chair Desley Simpson expressed great pleasure and relief at the decision.

“We have honoured the opinions expressed by so many Orakei residents – the future of the park was the one of the most submitted-on issues in the draft Unitary Plan.

“Our community was particularly concerned that the park might become intensive housing. It is now guaranteed to remain as public open space and available to everybody,” says Ms Simpson.

 

The park will transfer to the council’s local and sports parks portfolio on 1 February 2014.

This acquisition was an unbudgeted item which has been factored into the draft Annual Plan 2014/15. Council has also agreed to explore the sale of three parcels of council-owned land around Colin Maiden Park, to assist with the cost of acquiring the park.

Sale of land will follow the relevant public consultation processes in the Reserves Act and the Local Government Act. If any land is sold, any existing uses and activities on that land will be provided for on Colin Maiden Park or in the same general area.

In the coming months, council will work with all current users of the park to discuss their existing arrangements and look at how we continue to work together. Long term management of the park will also be addressed through council and the local board’s planning processes.

—ends—

 

I believe congratulations are in order for Orakei Local Board Chairwoman Desley Simpson as the public figurehead that spearheaded the campaign to have Colin Maiden Park transferred to public ownership – securing its place as Open Space on the isthmus. Well done Delsey and co for a job well done 🙂

 

Now just to get the bureaucratic proceedings out-of-the-way and Auckland has a very large park secured for its future.

 

Unitary Plan Updates 3.2.2

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From Friday to Monday

And Advancing Auckland from the 1950’s to the 1970’s

 

Friday was more tame day at the Unitary Plan proceedings with the day wrapping up at around 3pm. Unfortunately owing to the Residential Provisions being dragged out earlier, the proceedings are forced into the two reserve days (as mentioned in the Unitary Plan Updates – Day 3.1 post.

I am not going to do Councillors’ favourite trick and rehash everything from Friday. You can see the snippets of the day’s proceedings over at my Twitter page – @BenRoss_AKL and most of the amendments on my Talking Auckland Facebook page.

New Zealand Herald reporter Bernard Orsman finally did something right and actually got two good descriptions up of Friday’s proceedings. Again to save me doing a rehash and owing to the fact Orsman did it so well, check his two articles out by clicking on the respective links below

The resolutions that were moved on Friday were the:

  • Public Open Space and Recreation
  • Business Zones (which includes the Centres (Height in Centres is dealt with on Monday)
  • City Centre (including Port of Auckland)
  • Social Infrastructure
  • Physical Infrastructure

While Orsman most of the above, two points were missed that caused a bit of noise and debate during those proceedings. One point was about Colin Maiden Park which is owned by the University of Auckland, the other was about Councillor Cameron Brewer’s Parking Minimums with the Mixed Housing Zone.

 

Colin Maiden Park

With the University of Auckland looking at moving from its Tamaki site to the Newmarket Site (old Lion Brewery site), there is debate about Colin Maiden Park which it owns. Under the Unitary Plan the site is zoned I believe Terrace Housing/Apartment. This means if the University of Auckland as the legal land holder of Colin Maiden Park (home to sports grounds including netball courts) could redevelop the land into Terraced Housing and or low-rise apartments.

Orakei Local Board nervous of this asked Council on Friday to rezone Colin Maiden Park into the Public Open Space and Recreation Zone – so that the park can stay as is once the University shifts.

Problem? Council can not do that (zone Public Open Space/Recreation) on privately held land without the agreement from that landholder. Effectively and essentially Auckland Council would have to seek agreement from the University of Auckland to zone Colin Maiden Park as open space – which means most likely a buy out.

Planner Penny Perrit outlined a landmark Environment Court Case between the old and now defunct Auckland City Council and the Dilworth Trust where that Council tried to put a open space zone over the Trust’s privately held land. A Court battle ensured and ruled that Council could not do that under the Resource Management Act 1991. The site is now home to the Dilworth Primary School.

So this is the issue Auckland Council and the Orakei Local Board would run into with Colin Maiden Park. Unless the University of Auckland agrees – and that will be most likely through a sell out, there will be no Open Space zone on Colin Maiden Park. Whichever way you see this – this is just reality.

 

Councillor Brewer’s Parking Minimums

Councillor Brewer under the Physical Infrastructure section had moved the following resolution:

Brewer/Stewart: “That in the Townhouse And Apartment Building Zone, there be a minimum parking requirement of at least one car-park per dwelling of two or more bedrooms, and in both the Mixed Housing Urban and Suburban zones there be a minimum of one park for studios and one bedrooms as is proposed, and at least two car-parks as a minimum for any new dwelling two bedrooms or more (not three bedrooms as is proposed) to help mitigate increasing car numbers and on-street parking problems .”

It was defeated 6-14 by the Auckland Plan Committee – so a Super Majority (over 67%).

When this amendment was being debated I literally was flooding Twitter with the happenings of the debate as well as my own thoughts. Unlike Councillor Brewer who does not quite no what Neo Liberalism means (as he fesses to be one), I do know what Social Liberalism is and will adhere to it on my beliefs – especially around planning and the economy.

In defeating Councillor Brewer’s Parking Minimum amendment by a Super Majority Level what had happened was that Auckland had taken another step advancing from the 1950s to the 1970’s (I did mean 21st Century but as someone pointed out on Twitter, the 1970s was more apt given the circumstances on Friday, and also how far Auckland has to go to reach the 21st Century)

What I might do is an expose on my planning values that are Social Liberal and how it influences my thoughts around the Unitary Plan.

For the moment though I have some light reading from my opposite number in the USA:

Monday

Monday the Auckland Plan Committee looks at; Heritage (another potential dragger like the Residential provisions), ‘Heights in Centres’ and the Rural Urban Boundary. I won’t be present at Council tomorrow as I will be knuckling down on a project for the next couple of weeks. However I will keep tabs on the All About Auckland video feed and post any major happenings on Twitter when they happen.

September 5 draws close though folks as the Governing Body will decide whether to send the Unitary Plan for formal Notification or not.

 

Related articles

Tamaki Redevelopment

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Seems It is Finally Going?

 

I picked up this particular article in the Herald this morning in regards to Tamaki.

From the NZH

Leg up on cards for low-income areas

By Simon Collins 5:30 AM Tuesday Jun 18, 2013

Intensive housing project of 6000 homes and ideas for attracting new businesses and training organisations will help revitalise eastern suburbs around Tamaki estuary.

 

Auckland‘s low-income suburbs of Glen Innes, Pt England and Panmure will roughly double in population under a draft plan for more intensive housing to be unveiled today.

The urban “regeneration” project, which could add up to 6000 new homes to an existing 5050, is expected to be one of the first “special housing areas” with fast-tracked resource consent processes under a housing accord signed last month by Housing Minister Nick Smith and Auckland Mayor Len Brown.

 

The target of 6000, included in the accord, makes it the biggest housing development scheduled in Auckland and twice as big as the 3000-unit Hobsonville development.

It covers the area between West Tamaki Rd in the north and the Panmure Basin in the south, including 2880 Housing NZ homes, about 1160 owner-occupied houses and just over 1000 private rental properties.

Unlike other developments, the draft Tamaki strategy also includes 11 other social, economic and environmental elements, as well as housing, designed to make the area more liveable despite doubling the population density.

 

The area is among Auckland’s most deprived, with a 2006 median income of only $20,000 and an employment rate of only 52 per cent, compared with 65 per cent across Auckland. Sole parents make up almost half the area’s families.

But the strategy sees opportunities for more jobs and training by attracting new businesses, redeveloping under-used land along the existing railway and encouraging training agencies such as Manukau Institute of Technology, Unitec and Te Wananga o Aotearoa to take over parts of Auckland University‘s Tamaki campus, which the university plans to sell as it develops a new campus in Newmarket.

 

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Aims of the project

1. Cultural identity
Work with iwi and heritage groups to protect cultural landmarks; run community events; facilitate a weekend or night market; include public art in all major projects.

2. Healthy, happy children
Support early childhood education through Tamaki Learning Champions; support e-learning and driver’s licence training; promote child-friendly parks.

3. Health and recreation
Support sports clubs to increase sporting participation; support an integrated family health centre; support watersports facility at Panmure wharf and multi-sports facilities at Dunkirk Reserve.

4. Safety
Support Maori wardens and Maori and Pacific youth groups.

5. Education
Work to keep educational courses when Auckland University sells its Tamaki campus.

6. Employment
Support services for beneficiaries returning to work, eg, CVs, financial literacy; use Tamaki Redevelopment Company jobs as stepping stones to other work.

7. Economic development
Attract new businesses; use housing developments to foster construction industry businesses.

8. Innovation
Develop affordable housing; support social finance initiatives for social enterprise and small business.

9. Urban environment
Work with council to redevelop Glen Innes town centre, including shared spaces for pedestrians and cars; also to redevelop Panmure town centre.

10. Housing
Work with Housing NZ to decide which houses to keep or redevelop; build or promote a range of housing types, including affordable housing; buy or sell land to create development parcels.

11. Natural environment
Use environmentally sustainable practices, eg, solar power, collected rainwater, sustainable materials; develop paths along Tamaki River and connecting green spaces; support community gardens.

12. Transport
Work with private investors to reopen former Tamaki railway station and develop park-and-ride facilities.

Have your say

*Celebrating Community Day, Glen Innes town centre, this Saturday, 11am-2pm.
*Panmure flea market, Sunday June 30, 9am-noon.
*Glen Innes Kulture and Kai market, Saturday July 6, 8am-1pm.
*Online: tamakimakingithappen.co.nz

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You can read the article over at the Herald site itself

But it seems after years if not decades of procrastination this large brownfield redevelopment project is slowly getting under way. Not without controversy mind you in regards to the relocation of state houses in the area.

I remember back in 2010 when I was a University of Auckland Master of Planning Practice student in my second semester having to trot out to Glen Innes and “research” the area. The purpose behind that being that as the second urban design paper of the course (there were two at the time) I/we (the class) had to produce a redevelopment paper for Tamaki and present it to the residents and businesses.

I still have that final development paper gathering dust and cobwebs stored away along with other “mothballed” urban design work I wrote as a student back then.

In the end the paper scored an ‘A-‘ and received favourable reviews. Again like my previous Wynyard Quarter urban design piece (which also go a ‘A-‘) it was deemed controversial but, only because I went macro (rather than micro like the class did) in the design work (so take the whole area rather than a set small area) and did something entirely different to what the rest of the class did.

It also showed my natural knack for urban and transport design rather than the Resource Management Act based stuff (that the bulk of the Masters was) which I found incredibly boring and mundane. And before someone pipes up, yes I just did a 104 page submission to the Unitary Plan which owes its life to the RMA itself (being an RMA based document). However, while I did make mention of Section 4 – the rules; the bulk of the submission had very close links to urban and transport design and management (the zones and the centres). I think I could put this all down to two decades of Sim City for my urban and transport design and management knack – thanks Maxis.

But, back to the paper: After the paper was marked it was intentioned that communication links between Tamaki and myself would be kept open. It never happened after one meeting when communications went cold at the other end. More to the point I was no longer fussed with the developments in Tamaki after 2010 despite an A-grade paper that was ahead of its time gathering the dust in some draw somewhere in the house. 

 

So I see this article crop up about Tamaki and go read it. Afterwards I go brush the cobwebs off the Urban Design piece I wrote three years ago. I suppose I still give a fuss about Tamaki even if the Council and Government apparatus are treated in suspicion.

Good news is that I have a digital copy of my Tamaki Redevelopment Project paper from 2010. You can have a read on what I proposed three years ago and compare to what is being proposed and built today. It does make interesting comparisons.