Voting takes the steam out of hot issues in Super City
Takapuna changes likely to go ahead but golf course plans in the rough
Two hot local body election issues in Auckland — Chamberlain Park golf course and Takapuna’s Anzac St car park — have more or less been resolved.
A resounding win for North Shore councillors Chris Darby and Richard Hills means the redevelopment of the Anzac St carpark and wider revitalisation of Takapuna can proceed.
However, the failure of City Vision to retain a majority on the AlbertEden Local Board puts their $30 million plan to reduce the 18-hole golf course to nine holes and use the extra land as a park with walking, cycling and sporting facilities in the rough.
Save Chamberlain Park spokesman Geoff Senescall said the exit of Albert-Eden Local Board chairman Peter Haynes — “the driver of this project” — is very positive and the project will not go ahead as planned.
City Vision could still win a fourth seat when the final count is in and tie with the right-leaning Communities and Residents ticket, who oppose the plan and currently have five of the eight seats.
But Senescall said City Vision would be illadvised to pursue the project, which Save Chamberlain Park has been fighting for several years. The conflict has been at ugly at times and subject to legal action.
Senescall said the time has come to commit to keeping the full 18 holes at the “people’s golf course”, but it doesn’t mean more cannot be done to improve public access, build a bike track and restore the environment by cleaning up Meola Creek and increase native plantings.
Meanwhile, the battle over the future of the Anzac St carpark and plans to turn it into a new town square has backfired for the opponents and delivered a resounding victory for progress.
Darby said the so-called Anzac St/market square issue was hardly raised by opponents at candidate meetings, but used as part of an attempt on social media to beat him and Hills with deceit, which failed.
“We cannot afford the handbrake to be yanked on again on Takapuna,” said Darby, who stood with Hills on a platform to develop a great market square and progress the Hurstmere Rd upgrade. Takapuna Beach Business Association chair Tony Dench said the election result showed locals have voted to stay the course and get on with the revitalisation. The result gave businesses certainty and confidence to plan and invest in developments.
“This has been a pretty bruising local body election for Takapuna . . . at times we felt we were caught in the middle,” Dench said.