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COVID-19 Recovery
For our businesses and our community
HEALTHY DOG AND CO
Caring for your dog's coat and skin has just got easier with the new New Zealand brand 'Fur Love'. Beautiful natural shampoos, cleansers, oils, and more. Find them in store and online at Healthy Dog & Co.
MASSAGE LINK
Massage Link is a Chinese therapeutic massage spa that specialises in traditional treatments at an affordable price. Monthly special: 10% off for 60mins massage with essential oil. Promo code: STS0322
46 Clyde Road, Browns Bay 09 218 9839 massagelink.nz@gmail.com
facebook massage link (browns bay) instagram @massage_link
FLORIENNE
Florienne, simply a treasure trove of flowers in the heart of Takapuna, available in store or just order online for contactless collections or deliveries.
SPERO CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR
PREFALL ARRIVALS Curate by Trelise Cooper Lemonade Stand dress in White Roses
Boutique stationer, home of a thoughtfully curated selection of fine stationery.
Shop 2, 2 Queens Parade, Devonport fitzgeraldtaylor.co.nz
CRAVEHOME
Saben’s divine new collection The
Great Outdoors is now in store and online. Taking inspiration from Queenstown’s natural beauty, there are new styles and colours that reflect the seasonal magnificence of the mountainous surrounds.
TANGO'S SHOES
Actress/model, Elsa Pataky collaborates with our Gioseppo range from Spain to bring you this funky yet functional sneaker range to upstyle this season's look!
164 Kitchener Rd, Milford 09 488 0495
facebook instagram www.tangosshoes.nz
COSI FAN TUTTE
Treat yourself to an exquisite wearable work of art from our latest Sophie Digard range.
Now in store and online.
73 Victoria Road,
Devonport 021 247 2469 www.cosifantutte.co.nz
POP ROC PARTIES
Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, Happy Baby Shower, Happy Wedding …Happy everything! Pop Roc Parties has all your parties and celebrations covered!
9A Williamson Avenue, Belmont, 021 535 976 deanna@poprocparties.co.nz www.poprocparties.co.nz
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As summer rolls into autumn, Bear Brothers black denim pinafore dress and Rosie gingham linen top will keep you cool and comfortable all day long. Contemporary denim clothing for the way we live today. Available in store and online
YARNTONS
Glerups are a sustainable functional footwear from an environmentally conscious brand.
Birkenhead, 18 Mokoia Rd, 09 418 4011 Devonport, 79 Victoria Rd, 09 445 3479 www.yarntons.co.nz
RESENE COLORSHOP
Dress up your walls with Resene wallpaper Bring the best of nature indoors with the Resene Willow Wallpaper Collection, exclusive to Resene ColorShops. Create a sense of calm and sanctuary in your home, with designs like Resene Wallpaper 2008-149-04. View the full wallpaper range at your local Resene ColorShop.
1 Auburn St, Takapuna, 09 489 1540 2 Tawa Drive, Albany, 09 414 6500 8 Croftfield Lane, Wairau Park, 09 444 4387
WALLACE COTTON
Make a simply serene bed with pure washed Loft Linen. Crafted from soft, durable European linen fibre, fall asleep in the casual luxury of Loft Linen bedding in soothing natural tones. P.S. the more you launder your linen, the softer it becomes, making it a beautiful place to wake up in every morning.
AMAZON SURF, DENIM & SKATE – GLENFIELD MALL
THE HOME OF SUMMER… Surf Dive ‘n Ski has been one of Australia’s leading surf, skate and lifestyle retailer since 1964. We stock the best product from the world’s leading brands, carefully curated and presented for our consumers. We pride ourselves on our people and their exceptional customer service and product knowledge… you won’t find a better crew than ours! Glenfield Mall, 022 038 2467
Local Board Life
By Toni van Tonder, Elected Member, Devonport Takapuna Local Board
March! Really? Are we that far into the year? We seem to have leapt forward at pace so it’s about time for an update on Local Board life, which for the majority of last year, continued to operate remotely. Being a glass half full kinda person, I’ve decided to frame the last 12 months as a ‘joyful challenge’. I say joyful because of two good reasons; the range of fantastic capital projects that were successfully delivered last year that will make a measurable difference to local lives, and joyful because of the committed Council staff I get to work alongside who are smart and passionate and keen to collaborate, finding ways to progress the projects and issues that are of importance to the community.
Starting with capital projects, there have been a plethora of improvements from Devonport to Castor Bay; including (but not limited to) the new Milford Beach Reserve toilets and changing facilities (they’re stunning!), the opening of the Sunnynook play space, new toilets at Lake Town Green in Hauraki, new playgrounds at Melrose Reserve Devonport, Lansdowne Reserve Bayswater, Nile Reserve Milford, and a new playground renewal starting at Montgomery Avenue Belmont. We renewed the band rotunda at Windsor Reserve in Devonport (electrics and pathways still to be completed) and the seawalls at Narrow Neck Beach and Lansdowne Reserve are now getting repaired. We’ve renewed the stairs at Rāhopara Pā in Castor Bay and have been replacing and improving the boardwalk in Patuone Reserve so that there’s an off-road connection between Esmonde Road and Auburn Street in Takapuna. If, all going to plan, we are able to use the proceeds from the sale of 2 Strand in Takapuna, we’ll be able to deliver the walking/cycling connection from Francis to Esmonde Road, thus completing the green route from Devonport to Takapuna. The toilets and changing facilities at Gould Reserve, Takapuna Beach, are also half way through a complete rebuild complete with landscaping etc.
We managed to keep the funds to progress the Lake Road improvement project after some significant advocacy that included a heartfelt plea to the Chair of the AT Board during the dawn ceremony of Toka Puia car park (I was a bit of an opportunist, I admit) followed by letters sent to the CEO of AT pretty much begging to keep the funds online. Coupled with the advocacy by our Councillors, we were all relieved to learn that we didn’t lose this vital project when it was very much in jeopardy.
One of the most exciting improvements completed last year was the Hurstmere Road upgrade. It was a painful upgrade for local businesses that took way longer than anticipated thanks to Level four lockdowns, but this investment has seen a more open, pedestriancentred street-scape with welcoming street furniture, bi-directional cycle lanes, native planting and rain gardens, and importantly the replacement of ageing infrastructure below ground. It’s been more than 30 years since Takapuna has seen this sort of investment. There’s more to come as Eke Panuku started construction of Wawharariki Anzac Square, the new town centre for Takapuna in January.
All this achieved in our area, and way more when you consider Library services, the progression of strategic documents and plans, waste minimisation, funding for our environment, community groups and Business Associations, public transport delivery, road and footpath renewals. So much still accomplished given Council’s COVID-slashed budget.
The second joy I get out of the gig is working with Council staff. Such smart, passionate people who really work hard to please the community and help meet their aspirations. Council doesn’t have a bottomless bucket of cash (especially right now) and projects do take time to lift off the ground, but overall, these people understand the parameters and they work hard to deliver the absolute best outcomes. In our Local Board office we have wonderful staff who I deeply enjoy working alongside. I don’t think they get the appreciation they actually deserve and the truth is, they’re the ones really getting things moving. I am grateful that they are there to make the city a better, more livable place.
I’ll admit there have been plenty of times where I have felt like banging my head against a wall, times when things haven’t gone as I’d like them to at the decision-making table. I’ve come to understand that this is “democracy in action” but am convinced that if more people paid attention to local decision-making, and made their views heard, we’d get some different decisions being made. It’s been tough being regularly excluded by the current Chair and her team as Aidan and I don't get to participate in discussions and meetings on important agenda items before a business meeting. We often end up blindsided by the resolutions that get passed. This has been a genuine challenge.
It’s election year this year which means it’s a great time to take a critical look at your elected members and perhaps back some of the newbies who put their hands up. It’s not an easy gig to muscle your way in to and if there are new leaders out there prepared to raise their head above the parapet, then I think we owe them our consideration.
At this stage Aidan (Bennett) and I are seriously discussing running again and we have some excellent people who are keen to run alongside us (will share more when we’re ready). There are a few things we want to see progress still and we’re keen to see local leadership turn a new page. We all deserve a board we can be proud of. So, here’s to 2022. Things seem a bit rocky right now, but I have faith it’ll all come right in the end.
