Dinghy lockers under threat

Tide running out for waterfront dinghy lockers

Pre-World War II dinghy lockers and a boat ramp on the Devonport waterfront are on the chopping block.

Tenants of the 35 boat lockers on Queens Pde have just received notice from an Auckland Council marine-management contractor that the nearby ramp won’t be repaired and while they can continue to use the lockers, it won’t be for the long term.

Council has no plans for “major repairs” to the lockers, which will be eventually “retired when they are no longer fit for purpose,” a notification sent to owners said.

The Queens Pde lockers and the ramp, on the site of a former wharf, are believed to date back to around 1938.

David Simes, whose family has had a locker at Queens Pde for 20 years, said the news was a knockback to a community that appreciates its coastal assets.

“We moved to Devonport because of the access to the water – our kids grew up with that idea.”

He used the ramp to row a dinghy out to his boat, Layla, moored off Queens Pde – directly across from his home.

Council has said boat and kayak users have alternative ramps at Torpedo Bay or Stanley Bay.

“Torpedo Bay is a two-kilometre walk away – rowing a dinghy from there to our boat into a head wind isn’t really an option,” Simes said.

The Queens Pde ramp has been out of action recently. It broke six years ago and was repaired, but was damaged again in August 2020 and has yet to be fixed. Council said it was not practical to replace the ramp, given the erosion caused by the south-westerly winds and wave wash from passing vessels.

At a low ebb... David Simes wants the dinghy lockers and boat ramp at Queens Parade retained

Simes felt the council was running the lockers (and the ramp) under corporate-style management, unsuited to community assets.

He felt the lockers should be in the hands of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. “In reality I don’t think they (council) can be bothered with them.”

He estimated the Queens Pde locker users fees amounted to nearly $20,000 per year – more than enough to maintain them. Tenants of 15 large lockers pay $665 a year, while those with smaller lockers pay $471. Many tenants would be happy to chip in time and money to keep them going, he said. “In reality we are just trying to keep what we’ve already got.”

North Shore has big win ahead of carnival Chatham Cup clash

A Chatham Cup carnival atmosphere is likely when North Shore United takes on Waiheke in a fourth-round match at Allen Hill stadium on July 10.

Waiheke has a number players originating from South America, and a large supporter base who travel with drums and horns.

It’s shaping as a facinating encounter with Shore mid-table in the Northern Premier League and Waiheke top of the first division. Kick off is at 2pm.

Current Shore coach Malcolm McPherson had a stint with Waiheke prior to coming to Shore – adding an extra strand of interest to the clash.

North Shore United had a 4-1 victory against the West Coast Rangers in the Northern Premier league last Saturday. It was a decisive and much-needed victory for Shore, which has drawn five of its 13 matches so far this season.

The win puts Shore mid-table, but only three points off the top four, with nine matches to go. The top four teams at the end of the regular season go into a national league play-off for a New Zealand club championship.

North Shore’s next match is against Western Springs at home tomorrow (3 July) – an interesting tussle as both sides are on equal points.

The first four rounds of the Chatham Cup are played against local teams. If Shore wins its match against Waiheke and makes the quarter-finals, it will play teams from around the country.

Lake Rd project restarts: design budget brought forward

More than $2 million of the Lake Rd Improvements budget has been brought forward so detailed design and consenting work can start.

Last week, Auckland Council’s Planning Committee endorsed the Regional Land Transport Plan, which included the $48.4 million spend on Lake Rd. The plan was to be confirmed by the Auckland Transport Board last Monday, as the Flagstaff went to press.

North Shore Councillors Richard Hills and Chris Darby had sought to bring forward some of the spend into the first years to keep the project moving.

“The business case for Lake Rd has been retimed by spreading the allocated funding such that $1m is allocated in each of 2021/22 and 2022/2 financial years,” a report to the Planning Committee said. The final Lake Rd budget has been confirmed at $48.4 million, not $52 million, as mentioned in some council documents.

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Double trouble – identical twins sign for Shore

Two of Auckland’s top cricketers have moved to North Shore in the off-season – a major coup for the club as it cements its position as a title contender in 2021-22.

Identical twins Adi and Amit Dhadwal (26) had played several seasons for Cornwall Cricket Club and are members of the Auckland ‘A’ side. Adi had the highest total runs in premier one-day matches last season.

Both players enjoyed playing at Cornwall, but were attracted to the Shore club due to its culture and philosophy, and their links to team coach Chris Reid.

The twins were first coached by Reid at Waitakere a decade ago, along with Ronnie Hira, who set a world record with North Shore last year for the fastest ever 50.

Adi recalls: “ Ronnie used to give me a pair of his gloves when I played well.”

“We have always been in touch with Reido and when he went to North Shore, we followed how they were going.”

Shore was promoted to Auckland’s top division two years ago, after seven years in division two, and last season was in the running to win the title, until the last match.

“The team emphasis has been on processes rather than results,” says Adi. The natural flow-on for a team which gets the mechanics right, then the wins will come.

The Dhadwal brothers are top-order batsman – Amit an opener and Adi playing at number three or four. They are supportive of each other, alongside some friendly rivalry when the Flagstaff caught up with them practising at Takapuna Grammar’s indoor nets last Saturday.

Adi says he’s perhaps the bigger risk-taker and gets more runs. But Amit is quick to point out his brother may be “more flamboyant – I’m more insurance”, adding his more cautious play has yielded more premier hundreds than Adi. He’s now moving into double digits.

The twins’ running between the wickets has also had many opponents seeing double vision and a few run-outs – some of which are not easy to forget.

“I remember Amit running me out at 98 once!” Adi says.

Nothing these days compares to the teenage battles of backyard cricket when growing up in Mt Eden and Three Kings. “We broke a lot of our parents’ windows back then,” says Adi.

Both twins have played overseas and been part of Auckland Cricket’s elite-player group for the past decade. And in addition to their playing prowess, they hope to mentor promising young North Shore players like Jock McEnzie and Simon Keene.

Already the team is looking forward to next summer, with many training hard in the off-season. A North Shore winter warriors Facebook page has been set up, with team members posting their workouts and practice schedules to encourage others. “There’s a real spirit amongst the players… and North Shore is a great ground to play cricket, we’re really looking forward to it,” Adi said. Shore coach Chris Reid said the signings were the most important for the club in the last couple of decades. To have a balanced side three age groups were needed – under-20s, mid-20s and over-30s. Shore in recent years had gaps in the mid-20s area.

“With the twins – who are both prominent Auckland club players – it changes the landscape for us. We will be potential title contenders across all the competitions,” Reid said.

Top twins… new North Shore players Adi (left) and Amit Dhadwal

Debt-to-Income Ratios

The government has approved the RBNZ to look at introducing debtto-income ratios (DTIs) as another measure to help slow the rampant house prices we have seen over the last year or so. The reality is DTIs, already exist implicitly within the banks’ servicing calculators (which assess any lending at an [elevated] interest rate of between 5.80 and 7.20% depending on the bank) – hence the difference in servicing calculators.

As a general rule, bank calculators allow debt levels for roughly six or seven times your gross combined income (including rental income) when assessing servicing. This also depends on age, number of dependents, expenses, other liabilities etc. So for the RBNZ to introduce, say, a seven-times DTI, then it would not be drastically different to what already exists.

However, what they could do to reduce investor appetite would be to exclude rental income from the servicing calculation. That would mean investors would have to rely totally, or more heavily, on their personal income for servicing, and for many that would not work for them to buy further investment properties. It’s just a possibility, but the government and RBNZ seem to have property investors in their sights right now! So as always, speak with us first.

Mortgage advice. Check with us first.

Contact Mike Simpson on 021 283 8040 or Free mortgage advice. mike.simpson@mortgagesupply.co.nz or contact Richard Trounson on 027 580 1004 or Costs nothing, saves plenty. richard.trounson@mortgagesupply.co.nz We give mortgage advice through our company Trounson Financial Services Ltd Disclosure Statements are on our website: simpsontrounson.co.nz