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A series of special walks around Warkworth are being organised this coming Friday and Saturday, December 9 and 10, as the next stage in the development of a new town centre plan being driven by Rodney Local Board.
Since being appointed in May, community development collective Community Think and urban designer Motu Design have run a number of events and activities designed to find out how local people want to see Warkworth develop and meet community needs in future.
These have included a Festival of Ideas event in August, a ‘meaning making’ session in September and the distribution of ‘workshops in a box’ to local schools, community groups and businesses to gather feedback and ideas.
Now, lead facilitator and developer Cissy Rock says it’s time to explore how all the wish list ideas might actually happen and how they could work for the community.
“We are moving from ‘what’ you want to see in the community to ‘where’ and ‘how’,” she says.
“We will talk about things like what infrastructure and design might be needed to make ideas come alive, and where do people imagine these ideas and activities taking place, or being built.”
There will be three different ways to take part:
• A guided walk through different areas of Puhinui Warkworth at 10.30am and 2pm on Friday December 9, and 10.30am on Saturday, December 10.
• A drop-in centre in the old Masonic Hall, Baxter Street, from 10am to 4pm on Friday, and 10am to noon on Saturday morning, where there will be maps on the wall for people to contribute thoughts and opinions.
• A self-guided walk where people will be given a map to take themselves around the town.
Rock says the goal of the plan, which utilises and includes the traditional name for Warkworth, is to ensure the town meets the needs of the whole community and protects and enhances the Mahurangi River.
“The Puhinui Warkworth Town Centre Plan will set the direction for the development of the area and will guide future decisions on place-making projects, public spaces, accessibility and connectivity projects, land use and community projects in and around the town centre and riverfront,” she says.
“It will also demonstrate more sustainable and collaborative ways of designing and developing the town centre to private investors, businesses, council and the wider community.”
For more information and to RSVP for numbers, go to https://warkworthcentreplan.thinkport.nz/ or email harriet@communitythink.nz
