My Account
Two local boards are united in their opposition to a report by Auckland Council staff which concluded there are sufficient public facilities (libraries, sports, community halls and arts) for the residents of Millwater and Silverdale to cope with the next decade of growth.
Both Hibiscus & Bays and Rodney Local Boards rejected the findings of the Millwater and Silverdale Community Provision Investigation and are determined that it should not be endorsed by the Governing Body in its current form.
Rodney Local Board chair Phelan Pirrie describes the report as one of the worst he’s seen.
Although the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board was unhappy with the report when members first saw it last October, and gave feedback about changes that should be made, none of those had been incorporated when the report went to the Rodney Local Board last month.
One suggestion in the report was that the community can use school pools or facilities – something that raised eyebrows on both local boards.
Rodney Local Board asked if staff had checked that was even possible, and they said the report was actually done four years ago and they didn’t have the money or resources to update it.
“What, you can’t phone a few schools?” Pirrie says.
One of the report’s suggestions was that Silverdale residents should travel to Mahurangi College to use their pool, but not only is the school pool not open to the public, it is more than 30km away.
Pirrie says the Rodney Local Board asked for the report to be withdrawn.
Both local boards requested that Council’s Parks, Arts, Community and Events Committee direct staff to address what they call “systemic errors” within the report, and review the evidence and information within it.
“They should have worked with the local boards, as community facilities are their thing, but they just came along and did the presentation and that was it,” Pirrie says.
If they don’t withdraw it and insist on taking it to the Governing Body, Pirrie, Dairy Flat member on Rodney Local Board Louise Johnston, Hibiscus & Bays Local Board chair Gary Brown and deputy chair Victoria Short will attend and speak about it.
“It is important because if it’s endorsed, the report will be used by developers and Council and other organisations to decide whether spending is justified,” Pirrie says. “Because it says there’s no need for investment, that’s what could happen, and these reports don’t get redone for four or five years, during which time there will be substantial growth.”
Brown says the report shows poor planning.
“We can’t sit by and let this go through,” he says. “Greater in-depth thinking and research is needed. While it’s just one report, it could impact on future service provision for our communities.”
Brown says there will be a meeting between members of the Rodney and Hibiscus & Bays Local Boards and Council staff to go through the members’ concerns again.
The next step in the process if for the report to go to a meeting of Council’s Park, Arts, Community and Events Committee for approval.
Backstory: November 8, 2021
