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Mahurangi Action secretary Cimino Cole hopes to have sections of a bridge.
A proposed trail linking three regional parks in Mahurangi is being supported by the Rodney Local Board and a regional parks advocacy group.
Mahurangi Action and Friends of Regional Parks are campaigning to win Auckland Council support for the trail, which would link Mahurangi Regional Park to Te Muri and Wenderholm.
Friends of Regional Parks was established in 2010 to advocate for the maintenance and development of Auckland parks. Chair Bill Burrill was an Auckland Regional Councillor for nine years and chaired the parks committee for nine of those years. Vice-chair Bronwen Turner is the daughter of former regional parks chair Judge Arnold Turner, who helped establish the regional parks network in the 1960s.
It is the first project the group has supported.
The two groups are forming a charitable trust to progress the project and want Council to support the trail to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Auckland Regional Parks.
Mahurangi Action secretary Cimino Cole, engineer Roger Williams and Ms Turner presented the project to the Rodney Board last month. Ms Turner urged Council to continue the vision that lead to the creation of the parks network.
“The trail would show how far we have come over the past 50 years, joining Auckland’s oldest park with one of its newest,” Ms Turner said.
Mr Cole and Mr Williams have developed preliminary designs for the walkway with a $900,000 budget.
At the meeting they presented a model of the bridge they propose to use to cross the Puhoi River, which is the first step of the project.
The $600,000 footbridge would span 300-metre and start near Schischka House in Wenderholm. It would be two-metres above the high-tide mark, allowing small boats to pass underneath and the centre of the bridge could be raised to allow yachts to pass through.
The concept got unanimous support from the board, which has written a letter supporting the trail.
Fundraising for the project is due to start in November, with a function at luxury villa Tu Ngutu, overlooking Sullivans Bay.
“We hope to raise $200,000 at the event by selling 100 tickets for $500, with the expectation guests will pledge a further $1000 over the next two years,” Mr Cole says.
Celebrities from the retail and banking sectors are expected to attend the event.
Mr Cole hopes the fundraising effort will increase the chances of Council backing.
A second fundraiser is planned at Wenderholm on Auckland Anniversary weekend next year to celebrate the 50th summer since the park opened.
