Community groups vie to share vacant cottage space

A vacant cottage owned by Auckland Council on Sandspit Wharf could find a new role as a base for environmental and community activities, if a proposal by Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust is approved.

The trust wants to lease the former manager’s residence next to the wharf carpark, which has been empty since the role was made redundant and house vacated several years ago.

Trust spokesperson Delma O’Kane said Ngāti Manuhiri planned to use the singlestorey property as a base for its marine operations in and around the Hauraki Gulf, including protecting and monitoring ecosystems and educational activities. There is also a possibility that other Sandspit or Kawau community groups could share the facility, she added. “We’ve been in discussions for quite some time, not only with Auckland Council, but also community groups such as the Coastguard and Restore Rodney East, as others who also want to use the space,” she said. “We don’t have a problem with sharing the space. However, as it will have a lot of potentially expensive gear, such as gadgets, laptops and computers, it could make it a bit challenging, security-wise.”

That should be music to the ears of the Sandspit Residents and Ratepayers Association, whose chair Peter Deane made a deputation to last month’s Rodney Local Board meeting on July 19.

He said he had heard on the grapevine that Ngāti Manuhiri might be taking a lease on the house and, while he had no problem with the trust, he wanted to find a way of opening it up for wider community use.

“We’re very aware the facility could be of huge importance to the community,” he said. “It could be a very valuable community asset and there are a number of groups who could use it and need the space.”

As well as Kawau Coastguard, which moors its boat just outside, other groups that could benefit from using the house included community resilience and conservation groups.

“There are a number of rooms there, so it shouldn’t just be for one group, that’s the model we’d want to see working,” Deane said. “There are a lot of collaborative interests. It would be great for workshops, meetings and storage.”

However, whatever lease or usage arrangements may eventuate, nothing is likely to happen in a hurry. Auckland Council’s parks and community facilities property leasing manager, Yusuf Khan, said a recent