PONSONBY PARK

PONSONBY PARK+ DECEMBER UPDATE

Yet one more year has sped by and here we are again in December! 2022 has been another crazy year with surprising twists and turns, so thankfully for most of us at least, the holiday season will soon be here.

The volunteer community-led design (CLD) group is pleased to report that it’s been a satisfying year with the development of Ponsonby Park having progressed substantially. Phase One continues to progress through the planning and development process within council, with a physical works scheduled start date of July 2023.

At the time of writing, our CLD group is due to meet with our Ward Councillor, Mike Lee in late November. Mike is a longstanding and strong proponent of Ponsonby Park. He commented to our group’s chair recently, “It certainly seems to be taking a long time but good to hear it is now moving ahead”. We look forward to working with Mike once again, as the project progresses.

With the Phase One funding already in place, and crucially with the funds available and accessible now, we have the expectation this should happen smoothly. This is fortuitous, given the current high rates of inflation that could significantly undermine the purchasing power of the funds if there were any unnecessary delays.

The Ponsonby Park project aligns with all council objectives, plans, and outcomes including;

· Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri - Auckland's Climate Plan,

· Te Rautaki Ngahere ā-Tāone o Tāmaki Makaurau -

Auckland’s Urban Ngahere (Forest) Strategy,

· Te Tahua Pūtea Tau 2021-2031 - The 10-year Budget 2021-2031

Mahere Huarahi o Ponsonby - The Ponsonby Road Plan, as well as being the Waitematā Local Board’s “One Local Initiative” project (after years of sustained and well-supported community consultation*), we are confident that we are all systems GO. 2023 will be another busy year for the CLD group, as we collaborate through Phase One of the Ponsonby Park development. But for now, we would like to take this opportunity to thank EVERYONE who has been part of the Ponsonby Park journey to date; from the original members of the then Auckland City Council who had the vision to purchase the site in 2006, to the team who have continued to support the vision of the civic space through the retention of the entire site and the allocation of the endowment funding, to our previous Ward Councillor Pippa Coom and our current Ward Councillor Mike Lee. To the past and present members of the Waitematā Local Board and their support staff, but most importantly to YOU our community, who have consistently and continuously engaged with us throughout the communityled design process, supporting us through this long journey, we THANK YOU. We could not have done it without you!

The realisation of Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road, is now underway and it will be a place of diversity and inclusion, where EVERYONE is welcome. It will be an urban oasis that will be good for people, the environment, and for greater Auckland. We hold to the vision that this beautiful civic space will be a taonga for residents, visitors and local businesses to access, enjoy, and flourish.

Our volunteer CLD group wishes you all a happy and safe holiday season, full of good cheer, rest and relaxation and we look forward to continuing our volunteer advocacy work for the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road that is Ponsonby Park, with shovels in the ground next year. Arohanui. (JENNIFER WARD)  PN

*Correction to November update - 1,208 People responded to the 3rd CLD consultation, not 208 as reported.

www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz

I have a routine. Early in the morning, myself, or my travelling entourage of various whanau make our way to the Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras.

The station has a great brasserie with large windows looking towards the check-in zone - they serve the best soft boiled eggs in London - you know what I’m talking about - ‘The Goldilock’s egg’ - the yolk is neither too runny nor too hard - ‘just right…’

We stroll onto the train - travel out to the white cliffs of Dover - zoom under the chalky bedrock and alight in Paris - Gare du Nord. Feeling brave we wheel our suitcases the 700 metres or so along the twists and turns of French alleyways to the Gare de L'Est. Here resides another of my favourite cafes in the world - because it is just so archetypal French. You know - a hundred small wooden tables and chairs crammed outside - baguettes in the window - large ashtrays abound, randomly placed advertisements for beers and wines from yesteryear, and a coterie of staff who seem a bit irritated at your arrival.

I’ll start my French experience with a croque monsieur or maybe a steak tartare and a carafe of ‘vins de table rouge’, delivered together with small round bottomed wine glasses. I often look back and think of this as one of my favourite food and wine pairings.

You have the ‘joie de vivre’ sitting so free at the café. It is irrelevant where the wine came from, its variety blah blah blah. All that matters is that it's French and you’re drinking it with the most classic of French cafe dishes. You see, that is the secret of the pairing - the ‘holy trinity’ if you like - the almighty tessellation of the food, the wine, and the environment. If you take out the Parisian cafe and try the exact same pairing at home, it will be difficult indeed to experience the same intensity of joy.

From the Gare de L’est onto the TGV to Champagne. Outside, the now grassy fields roll by as I try in vain to imagine the soldiers, English, Kiwi, Indian and many more, knee-deep in mud battling out the Great War at these fronts over a hundred years ago.

We alight in Champagne, and then I confess my little secret. Whilst the hoards head for the Avenue de Champagnes, we pop into a taxi and head to a tiny village in The South - Mareil-sur-Ay. We arrive heading past the locals playing boules on the sandy village square, down a dusty lane and through the largest gate into a priceless Maison. In front of me is the most pristine garden with a majestic horse chestnut tree towering at its centre. For this is the home of Billecart-Salmon - the most exquisite of Champagnes. You see, in 1818 Nicolas Billecart fell in love with Elisabeth Salmon.

They were gifted the prized possession of the Maison and the accompanying vineyard - The Clos St Hilaire - one of the greatest single vineyards in Champagne. Two hundred and three years later - Billecart-Salmon remains family owned - recently transitioned to Mathieu, its eighth generation custodian. Their production is miniscule - just one ninth of Dom Perignon. They don’t advertise at all - you simply discover Billecart in the best restaurants, resorts and establishments around the world; for example, Billecart is served by the glass at pretty much all of the twenty-seven three-star Michelin restaurants in France.

And that brings me to the point, I’d like to raise a toast to Mark Wallbank, Nigel Shanks, Chef Che, Leroy and the many others, who together are the extraordinary team behind the sumptuous Blue Breeze Inn on Ponsonby Road. A decade ago, Mark and I sat together, “Puneet” he said, “...I need something fabulous for my new restaurant - tell me what you’ve got.” ”Mark,” I said, “for a place of this stature, on a road of this stature, in a city of this stature, you need something, of stature,” and history was made.

Billecart-Salmon became the house pour champagne for ‘The Blue’ and has remained so to this day. The champagne fits so well there. It's the perfect wine to just enjoy on its own or pair with almost any of the dishes on the menu. For me, the signature dish with the Billecart Brut is their legendary steamed dumpling of pork and black truffle. I tell you, when you pair those, you hit the ‘holy trinity’ of food pairing. Try it for yourself this festive season - you’ll instantly be transported into ‘la joie de vivre’. (PUNEET DHALL)  PN

Puneet enjoying a meal in the Blue Breeze Inn

Puneet checking in for the Eurostar to Paris

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