News

Auckland Council is seeking feedback on this year’s Annual Budget. Visit http://shapeauckland.co.nz/consultations/annual-budget-20162017/ to read the document and submit your feedback. Note: Feedback is open until March 24 at 4pm. 

There are two main areas of consultation:

1. Rates

You can feed back on how you want your rates to be calculated and how much weight should be given to key issues such as:

• The Uniform Annual General Charge (i.e. whether this should be consistent across all households OR skewed towards areas where more money is spent)
• The Interim Transport Levy (an extra rates levy to pay for initiatives approved in the 10-year plan last year, including the Central Rail Link)
• Maori land rates
• Farm and lifestyle rates.

2. Spending in Orakei Local Board area

Meadowbank & St Johns is part of Orakei Local Board, and the Annual Budget determines where money will be spent in our area. You must submit in support of these projects to ensure they secure funding. Projects without support risk having their funding redirected to other areas of Auckland.

The main project affecting Meadowbank & St Johns is the cycling and walking connections to the Eastern Path (Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared walk/cycleway). Government funding does not cover connections to the path, so unless Orakei Local Board funds this, we could end up with a path through Meadowbank that is only accessible from St Johns Rd and the Meadowbank train station (which is not an improvement over existing routes).

Read more about the Eastern Path in our news article Eastern Path Updates September 2015.

A full list of local projects are below:

• cycling and walking connections to the Eastern Path (Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared walk/cycleway)
• Stonefields open space development
• develop the Shore Road eastern car park, third sportsfield and installing lighting
• contribute to the development of multi-use changing rooms at Michaels Avenue Reserve
• new lighting and sportsfield upgrades at Colin Maiden Park, Madills Farm and Orakei Domain.

***Update 17/5/16: Danny Xu advised by email that installation will now start in June. AT will notify residents a week before construction is due to start. We will keep you updated.***

Danny Xu, Senior Traffic Engineer from Auckland Transport (AT) attended our February meeting and updated us on the plans for the lights at Grand Drive and Abbotts Way. Main points are:

• Installation of traffic lights with filters, will commence April/May 2016 and take 6-8 weeks to complete
• AT will send letters to residents and local residents associations approximately 10 working days prior to beginning construction. Billboards will also be erected advising of the changes
• Existing kerb lines will remain
• Traffic lights at Lunn Avenue, Grand Drive and Ladies Mile will be coordinated to ensure better traffic flows
• As this intersection is on the Auckland Cycle Network, AT has incorporated more room for cyclists
• Traffic flows will be monitored and evaluated for the first three months
• Car parks will be lost on Grand Drive and Abbotts Way
• Limited mobility crossing will be provided for.

View a PDF map of how lights will look at the intersection

An update from Orakei Local Board on the upcoming upgrade to the playground at Rutherford Reserve:

“Work on the playground in Rutherford will start in mid-March. We are programming it for then as we are beginning renewals on the playgrounds at Madills Farm and Glover Park in February and don’t want too many playgrounds in Orakei out of action at the same time. We also need it really dry to work at Rutherford Reserve, and March is usually quite a dry month.
Attached is a PDF of the new playground that will be built.
thanks
Kit Parkinson
Orakei Local Board
027 274 9688”

Rutherford Reserve new playground design (PDF) Please note that the existing flying fox will stay!

In November 2015 Auckland Council announced a new Special Housing Area (SHA) at 8-14 Meadowbank Rd.

The development will replace four existing houses and will accommodate approximately 45 new apartments. Construction is expected to be complete in 2017.

More information

Below is the full text taken from the Auckland Council website:

“The development at 8–14 Meadowbank Road, Meadowbank is for approximately 45 new apartments, with an expectation that they will be completed in 2017.

The Meadowbank development will provide a mix of apartments in a range of price brackets including smaller one bedroom apartments and larger three bedroom apartments. At the bottom end of the price range, the apartments will meet the requirements of Auckland’s affordability criteria with pricing forecast at between $550,000 and $750,000. The development will also include underground car-parking, and open space for residents.

The apartments will replace four existing houses and enjoy access to bus and train routes, as well as being a short walk from social infrastructure such as shops, cafes, churches, medical centre, Countdown Supermarket.

The development will be managed by Southside Group Management Limited & Dryden Property Ltd with the intention to have the development completed by 2017.”

February 2016: An updated list of SHAs in the Orakei Ward (which includes Meadowbank and St Johns) is available here.

All are welcome to come along to an open day hosted by Ngati Whatua Orakei Reserves Board to help shape Pourewa Creek and decide how it should be used.

See the flyer for details: Pourewa Open Day Invitation