Community Park views invited

Public feedback is being sought on a draft master plan for Mangawhai Community Park, drawn up after community consultation last year.

The 34 hectare park on Molesworth Drive incorporates attractions and facilities including Mangawhai Activity Zone (MAZ), fire and ambulance stations, the Mangawhai Museum and Historic Village, the bowling club, Mangawhai Golf Club and a wastewater treatment plant.

The current master plan was adopted in 2014 but, with significant changes within the park since then, Kaipara District Council says it’s time for a review.

The draft plan was drawn up by the Mangawhai Community Park governance committee, which reports to KDC and comprises Councillors Mike Howard (chair), Rachael Williams and Ron Manderson, community representative Daniel Hawes, Māori representative Philip Johnson and Friends of Mangawhai Community Park chair Mary-Anne Boyd.

Among key changes proposed in the draft are optimising existing car parking areas at MAZ, the heritage precinct and bowling club; the possibility of permitting some commercial development in the park; and the creation of a new Merz Hut precinct off Thelma Road South, with car parking and picnic areas. The Merz Hut area celebrates the heritage of Swiss-born engineer, designer, inventor, squatter and “Mangawhai character” George Merz, who lived in Mangawhai during World War II.

The draft also identifies an area below the Mangawhai Club as a potential location for a future library, community hub or similar civic building. (See MM Nov 20, 2023).

Consultation opened on March 5 and feedback is invited until 5pm on May 6.
https://www.kaipara.govt.nz/mangawhaicommunitypark