LOCAL NEWS
PONSONBY PARK - THE IDEAL ‘SHOVEL READY’ PROJECT The vision for Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road, has consistently been informed by the values of democracy, inclusiveness and sustainability. It has been developed BY the community and FOR the community through a community-led design (CLD) process. A Brief history In 2000 a report by Boffa Miskell Ltd. confirmed the wider Ponsonby area was under-supplied with public amenity space and in 2006, the land at 254 Ponsonby Road was purchased to address this shortfall. The Waitemata- Local Board’s (WLB) ‘Draft Ponsonby Road Masterplan’ in July 2013 and a subsequent petition in 2014 - requesting the whole site be retained for the civic space - resulted in the Ponsonby Park site being de-coupled from the masterplan and a site-specific consultation was held. March 2016 saw the project devolved by the WLB to the community, via a CLD process with a brief to: ‘Develop a design concept with an indicative budget, for a whole site civic space using community-led design principles’. So the CLD group got down to work! In May 2017 we formally presented the LandLAB Park+ design and budget to the WLB - an extraordinary accomplishment by a small, voluntary group of community people. And in December that year, Ponsonby Park was included in the Auckland Council, Long Term Plan. (The LandLAB Park+ design won the international ‘World Architecture News – Future Civic category’ award and was shortlisted at the prestigious ‘World Architecture Festival’ in the “Future Civic’ category that year too). In 2018 Auckland Council voted unanimously to retain and develop the whole site as the preferred option and in 2019 additional funding was allocated to Ponsonby Park.
36 PONSONBY NEWS+ April 2021
February 2020 saw the WLB approve the business case for Ponsonby Park and this was progressed to Council for the balance of the budget. Then in March 2020, on the very day the funding was to be approved, Covid-19 forced Auckland Council to move to an emergency budget and no further spending was approved – including that for Ponsonby Park. March 2021 saw the latest Auckland Council Long Term Plan 20212031 consultation concluded. Which brings us up to date. We are optimistic that the Ponsonby Park project will now be reactivated. It has been 21 years since the need was identified and 15 years since the land was purchased. Ponsonby is iconic, diverse and urban, and the Waitemata- is one of the fastest-growing areas in Auckland - its population is projected to grow by 35 percent from 17,489 to 23,561 people in the next 30 years. Both the wider and local communities have shown significant and sustained engagement for the Ponsonby Park project. And why wouldn’t they when it has so much to offer? It will be an urban oasis that will be good for the people, good for the environment and good for Auckland. It is an ideal ‘shovel ready’ project that will provide not only a phenomenal (and self funding) community facility, but also a social heart for the local and wider community. Ponsonby Park - what’s not to love? Bring it on. Now! (JENNIFER WARD) PN www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz
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