The land forming the Pourewa Creek Recreation Reserve was returned to Ngati Whatua Orakei in 2012, and there is now a Draft Management Plan for its use.
Organisers of the tournament have been in close contact with us throughout preparations for the event, and we received the below communication from Aaron Carter, Tournament Director:
“The event will be held at the Remuera Golf Club, and as part of the event offering for spectators we sought use of part of the Waiatarua and Koraha Reserves, which have been granted. We are very thankful for this, and will ensure the Reserve/s are treated with respect and care at all times.
We have a well-planned parking strategy, which will see club members and signage at key points, along with cones that will delineate parking access/egress areas, we hope to minimise any inconvenience to you during the event – there are no resident restrictions in place.
The Koraha Reserve has been confirmed as a back-up parking location if required.
Please find attached the parking site layout plans, and the local residents/business mailer, which has been delivered to residents and local businesses adjacent to the course.”
If you have any questions or concerns please get in touch: email
Housing New Zealand has advised that demolition of the houses at 4-6 Puroto St and 9-11 Purewa St will begin soon to allow construction on Special Housing Area-designated land.
Resource consent has been granted to remove four houses and replace them with 12 new homes. See our View plans for Meadowbank SHAs news article for detailed plans of the development.
We have attached letters distributed to residents about the demolition and asbestos removal.
The email from Housing New Zealand is included below:
Good afternoon
I am writing to advise that demolition work will be commencing on the above site shortly. I delivered a letter to all residents in Puroto St, Purewa Rd and both sides of Manapau St from the intersection of Tahapa Crescent on Tuesday. The work will be carried out in stages with asbestos removal first. The houses will then be demolished and removed from the site. I have asked our Delivery Manager about this work and the impact on the neighbourhood in particular the traffic congestion. He advises that the contractors will park their vehicles on the site and the Puroto St houses will be removed through the Purewa Rd entrance.
The letter sent to residents and fact sheet about asbestos removal are enclosed.
Regards
Marion
Marion Humphrey Stakeholder Relationship Manager
Housing New Zealand Corporation
Demolition taking place in Purewa Rd, as seen on 2 March 2016.
We have received a request from the Remuera Golf Club, who are hosting the New Zealand PGA Championships on 2-6 March. They would like to be able to prepare the course from 6am, instead of 7am as current noise restrictions allow.
If you live near the golf club and have any specific concerns, please contact Spencer Cooper, Course Superintendent, Remuera Golf Club on 021 229 8550 or .
Full text of the email from Remuera Golf Club is below:
Dear Neighbours,
We hope you are well and enjoying the great summer we are having?
As you have probably heard and seen recently, Remuera Golf Club will once again be hosting the New Zealand PGA Championships from 2-6 March 2016 (with the Pro-Am event on 2 March) which is part of and organized by the Australasian Tour. This a very exciting event not only for the club but for Auckland and we are looking forward to building on last year’s successful tournament. (www.holdenpgachampionship.co.nz)
In fact, the tournament has been so well received and due to this huge interest we will have to make use of every minute of daylight during the tournament to prepare the course and still accommodate all the players.
With this in mind we find ourselves in the position of being restricted by Auckland Council Noise Pollution Laws to only start preparation of the course at 7am. We are committed to maintaining and building a strong relationship with all our neighbours but for 2, 3 and 4 March 2015 we would like to ask for some leeway and start our operations to prepare the course at 6 am.
We hope this request is agreeable with all our neighbours and together with you we look forward to putting on an event that our whole community can be proud of. Please notify me directly should you have any concerns? Please could you also share this with any of our neighbours not on this mailing list who might have concerns especially along Norman Lessor Drive, Allen Johnstone Place, Hoani Glade, Coldham Crescent, Charles Fox Place and Panapa Drive.
The Unitary Plan exists to provide a framework for how Auckland will grow, and accommodate more people in increased density housing in Auckland.
However late last year Auckland Council blindsided Orakei Ward residents with significant changes to the density outlined in the original Unitary Plan.
Zoning redefinitions: The four residential zones in our ward will all allow for more density. For example, Mixed Housing Suburban Zone (most of Meadowbank & St Johns), will now allow one dwelling per 200m2 (instead of one dwelling per 400m2). See a summary of zoning redefinitions (thanks to Margaret King).
‘Upzoning’: Just before Christmas 2015, Auckland Council announced that around 20,000 properties (mainly in Glendowie, St Heliers and Orakei, with about 100 properties affected in Meadowbank and St Johns) would be re-zoned under the Unitary Plan to allow for much higher density developments. Some properties even ‘jumped up’ two zones.
For a definition of the four main proposed new zones affecting Orakei Ward, see the Auckland Council Fact sheet definitions:
In practice this means a much higher density in Orakei Ward than we were originally consulted upon, and the Council has not addressed the flow-on effects that this increased density will have on infrastructure, traffic and resources.
What’s more, unless the ‘upzoned’ households made a submission on the Unitary Plan (submissions closed in February 2014), they cannot make submissions on the changes.
We believe this process has been completely undemocratic so here’s what we’re doing about it.
Together with other Residents Associations and community groups in Orakei, and supported by Orakei Local Board, we held a public meeting on February 9 to inform residents of the changes and asked local Councillors to support our objections to the process
We’re staying in close contact with Orakei Local Board to keep pressure on Auckland Council.
Zoning map
To see an outline of the changes in Orakei Ward, view the Zoning Map. Note: ‘Out of scope’ means Auckland Council will not notify property owners of the changes, and owners have no right of reply to the changes.
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).
***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
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”
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.
“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.