Decisions loom for Claystore and other works

The extent of the upgrades to the heritage Claystore building in Devonport is among major decisions pending in Auckland Council’s local-board work programme.

At issue is whether to opt for $750,000 of partial improvements – including re-roofing, some recladding, window replacement and repainting in heritage colours – or to spend $1.2 million, which would also fund a mezzanine floor to be built above the existing ground-floor community workshop.

The intention would be to lease out space on the mezzanine level to maximise use of the building.

At a budget workshop held for Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members last week, chair Toni van Tonder said they needed

Groups seeking funding to support their work on community-led emergency response plans will have to wait to learn what help they might get.

Auckland Emergency Management (AEM), which was widely criticised for its initial response to January’s floods, is expected to report back to local boards by the end of September on how it plans to help.

The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, which in its last term put $30,000 towards local efforts to draw up plans, has been asked by groups involved what its future intentions are. “We can’t even buy a marker pen,” one to decide if there would be long-term savings from doing all the work in one hit.

Staff said this would be the case; or the work could be planned in such a way as to make it easier to later add the mezzanine and, potentially, an external lift to the new level.

One issue flagged was the need for a heritage architect, with waits of up to six months for a specialist to be available.

Seismic-strengthening could also be delayed, the staff advised, as the need for this would only be triggered by a resource consent for the other building work.

Board member Mel Powell supported consideration being given to ways to create commercial revenue from council assets.

Final decisions will be made at the board’s monthly meeting next Tuesday 18 July, when the works programme for 2023-24 will be confirmed. community member told the Flagstaff. Board senior adviser Maureen Buchanan said more information was expected from AEM this quarter. Work would be funded regionally, not through the board.

Also on the table are decisions about how much to spend on other heritage assets in need of attention, including the run-down Kennedy Park military tunnels and former barracks at Castor Bay.

The board has pencilled in spending $10,000 to explore options for better use of some of the council land and buildings it owns at 27 Lake Rd. As well as the Claystore and Devonport Recycling Centre, which have long-term leases, the site has older buildings in poor condition.

North Shore councillor Chris Darby recently told board members the area was an “eye-sore”, and that its future should be addressed.

Trish Deans, secretary of the Devonport emergency group, which has completed a plan for the peninsula from Belmont south, said AEM, which was a team of only 35 people, was unlikely to be in position to offer much assistance to local boards any time soon.

In her view, the board needed to step up to give the groups more certainty.

Deans, a former board member, said the original $30,000 had now been spent, under the auspices of Auckland North Community and Development (Ancad).

A group for Hauraki-Takapuna also wants a clear steer from council on AEM’s models before continuing with work.

Deans said her group relied on the support of other community groups, including the Devonport Peninsula Trust (DPT), which is being defunded in board budget cuts.

“We operate on a shoestring, and the withdrawal of DPT funding is shattering; they provide a crucial backbone.”