PONSONBY PARK

PONSONBY PARK+ OCTOBER UPDATE

The Community-Led Design group (CLD) would like to congratulate Martin and the entire team, for 33 years of publication of the fabulous Ponsonby News.

This is a long time to have survived and through many extraordinary times. For a community magazine to have done so, just goes to show how much people truly do value their local community.

The CLD group would also like to extend a warm and heartfelt thanks to Martin and the team, for their unwavering and steadfast support of Ponsonby Park through the many years that it has taken to get the project underway. We couldn’t have done it without you.

And underway we are!

Below is the latest timeline from Council for the Ponsonby Park development. The ‘design consultation and procurement’ process for Ponsonby Park is already underway. As reported last month, it is hoped that by the end of November, the design company may be in place. By July next year, we will finally see physical works for Stage One of the Ponsonby Park project begin on site.

Put it into your calendar now because there will be a celebration and everyone is invited!

After years of advocacy, consultation, presentations, submissions, and plain old hard work it is exciting for our CLD group, along with the entire community to know that we are underway with a clear focus to achieve this much-needed and desired community asset. As with the Ponsonby News magazine, Ponsonby Park again goes to show how much people truly do value their local community.

Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road - it’s underway. Brilliant! (JENNIFER WARD)  PN

www.254ponsonbyrd.org.nz

KEN RING: WEATHER BY THE MOON - AUCKLAND WEATHER DIARY, OCTOBER 2022

For October expect average rain, below average sunshine and lower temperatures than normal.

The first week may be sunniest but showery, the second week has coolest nights and highest pressures, the third week has lowest pressures, and the fourth week is driest but cloudiest. The last few days of the month may be wet. Two significant rain events may occur: around or near 6th and 19th. Atmospheric pressures may average 1014mbs. The best weekend for outdoor activities may be 22nd/23rd.

For fishermen, highest tides are around 10th. Best fishing bite-times in the east are around dusk on 9th-11th and 24th26th. Bite-chances are also good for noon of 2nd-4th, 17th19th and 31st.

For gardeners, planting is best (waxing moon ascending) on 1st, and 25th-29th; and pruning best 10th-15th, (waning moon descending). For preserving and longer shelf-life, pick crops or flowers around neap tides of 4th and 19th.

Allow 24-hour error for all forecasting. (KEN RING)  PN

For future weather for any date, and the 2023 NZ Weather Almanac, see www.predictweather.com.

Opinions expressed in Ponsonby News are not always the opinion of Alchemy Media Limited & Ponsonby News.

Sessions available for tamariki aged 2-5yrs!

email admin@ponsykids.org.nz or phone us on 376 0896

A t P o n s y K i d s C o m m n i t y P r e s c h o o l , c h i l d r e n a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s a r e a t t h e h e a r t o f e v e r y t h i n g w e d o . . .

LOCAL NEWS PONSONBY U3A: SEPTEMBER 2022

Good news. How oft do we hear the phrase, “When will there be good news?”

The September meeting of Ponsonby U3A certainly brought good news delivered to members in a refreshing and engaging presentation by Stephanie Brown. Stephanie is head of Partnerships for the Graeme Dingle Foundation.

Founded in 1995 by Sir Graeme Dingle and Lady Dingle, the Foundation is a youth development charity which every year helps 28,000 young New Zealanders from five to twentyfour years to realise their potential. The Foundation provides programmes that remove barriers, transform lives, and change the trajectory of a young person’s future by building up self-belief, mental fitness, confidence, and resilience. Cost benefit analysis reveals that for every dollar invested in such programmes, there is a return to the New Zealand economy of $7.80 through crime reduction, better paid employment, and lower levels of benefit dependence.

Stephanie stepped members through the horrific statistics (some exacerbated by Covid-19), relating to low school attendance (40% of our children are not attending school), high poverty levels, unemployment and bullying and discrimination particularly for Māori and Pacific children. She talked of those ‘silently disengaged’ from school, from family, from friends and it is these children that they target. Designed to address such problems, the programmes run in many schools from primary to secondary school level and beyond to develop social and emotional skills, communitybased learning, mentoring, and skills to find employment.

And the good news came with heartening stories from Stephanie’s case studies. Raised in foster care, abused, exhausted, unstable, and insecure, one 14-year-old living in a bus shelter joined Project K based on an adventure camp. She thrived and is now employed, has a driver’s license, is a Rotarian, a voluntary firefighter and a Kiwi Can mentor for younger children. Another student described how he was disengaged and bored and went out stealing cars, robbing stores, smoking, drinking, and getting into fights but through another programme was motivated to turn himself around and do positive things.

Dozens of schools are on the waiting list for these programmes and the challenge for the Foundation is to keep innovating for changing needs and to create sustainable funding channels. Next, more good news! Members enjoyed a story of Kiwi ingenuity brought to them by Ponsonby U3A member, Steve Skinner in a ten-minute talk. Steve told the story of how his sonin-law, developed in his spare time a virtual fence technology for farmers. Instead of an electric fence, cows learn through audio cues where the boundaries are. It is an innovation that will save the farmer several hours a day. Imagine! Instead of having to move an electric fence, a farmer holidaying in France can run the farm from afar. It is a new revolution and one that unsurprisingly has been snaffled up by Silicon Valley. Ponsonby U3A meets at the Herne Bay Petanque Club on the second Friday of the month. A guest speaker drawn from a diverse range of all spheres of endeavour, features each month. As well, members take turns to give a ten-minute talk about their lives or interests. At the heart of the club are the nearly thirty special interest groups that meet once a month. They include gardening, public art walks, gallery visits, dining out, armchair travel, writing, drawing, current affairs, antiques and collectibles, history, architecture to name a few. It is in these small groups that real friendships are forged.

Ponsonby U3A welcomes newcomers. If you are interested in attending, first as a visitor, please call President Ian Smith on T: 021 130 2330. (CHRISTINE HART)  PN

NEXT MEETING: FRIDAY, 14 October at 9.30am

GUEST SPEAKER: Professor Julian Paton, Manaaki Manawa, Heart Research Centre

VENUE: Herne Bay Petanque Club, 19 Salisbury Street, Herne Bay

ENQUIRIES: Ian Smith, President, Ponsonby U3A. T: 021 130 2330, www.u3a.nz

POP UP SHOP

1st – 29th October 2022

Quality Handmade Vintage Rugs, Runners, Cushions, Bags and more.

294 Ponsonby Road, Three Lamps, Ponsonby (next to Café Cezanne) Call 022 163 5300 @yuvarugs yuva.co.nz

OUT & ABOUT

Laughter and smiles, bubbles and balloons.

It was a celebration day last month for Grey Lynn Tamariki as they officially opened their new playground for PLAY!

LOCAL NEWS LEYS INSTITUTE RESTORATION & MODERNISATION

Unveiling the concept designs!

It is time to have your say on the future design of the muchloved Leys Institute at 20 St Marys Bay Road, with consultation on two design options open now until 1 December.

The Leys Institute buildings have been assessed as earthquake-prone and are in need of strengthening to bring the attributable seismic risk down to an acceptable level. The buildings closed in December 2019 due to the safety risk they posed in the event of an earthquake.

Now Auckland Council and Waitematā Local Board are preparing to restore and modernise this facility so that it will last for generations to come.

Built by the Leys Trust in 1905 on land provided by Auckland City Council for the benefit of the local community, it was the first major public facility in the expanding suburb of Ponsonby and it’s an important heritage public space to preserve.

“Since the building's closure we’ve been working hard to understand what we can do to save this heritage building and meet the needs of the community into the future," says service and asset planning specialist, Ash Richards.

We have worked with mana whenua and a rōpū of community leaders, including representatives from Friends of Leys, Heritage New Zealand, local community associations, and the Ponsonby Community Centre to really understand what is important to this community.

Now we have the design options in place, we are looking forward to hearing what option the community prefers.

Options We’ve developed two design options and are seeking feedback from the community.

Design one connects the separate library and gymnasium buildings using a three-level addition that opens the buildings to the courtyard and outside environment and includes heritage restoration and preservation. There are new spaces for a community kitchen, an increased library space, and flexible bookable areas for local groups, community member and businesses.

This design enables full library and community service delivery from the day it opens and well into the future. However, it is expensive and will require more funding than is currently available.

We are looking at ways to fund the $3.2 million shortfall for this design. We want your views on how best to generate extra funding should this be the preferred option.

Design two is a smaller building extension, replacing and extending the space of the existing 1938 Lending Library Room, while retaining the library and gymnasium as two separate buildings.

It is a lower cost option, based on the funding we have available now. However, it does not enable heritage restoration of original parts of the Leys Institute, and it will not be able to offer as many services and spaces for community. The spaces will not be as flexible, and we will have to spend more again later to make it fit for our changing community.

Time to have your say: Consultation is open now until 1 December.

Have your say online at: akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/leys-institute

We’ll also have information at the Little Leys Library and Ponsonby Community Centre over October and November 2022 where you can view the designs and give your feedback on which of the designs you prefer, along with the funding options. (CHLOE FRYER)  PN

www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz

LISA PRAGER: MR. FIXIT

No one wants a diminutive Jewish lesbian cowgirl to be Mayor of Auckland, that's why I'm voting for Wayne Brown.

He's rough, he's tough and it sure ain't his first rodeo. He’s a roading engineer, businessman and gun-for-hire. He's been Mr Fixit for both the Helen Clarke and John Key governments.

He gets that the Super City is a super rip-off, that just 10 preferred contractors are filling their boots all day long. He understands small business owners and how big corporations work. He's figured out that the Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) are out of control, wasting our cash and burdening future generations with excessive debt. He understands that political correctness won't build more houses or save Queen St from the crowd of guerrilla urbanists.

Wayne Brown will slim down the council bureaucracy and slash exorbitant executive salaries, pushing hard against central government's pressure to exclude public consultation. He won't be captured or blackmailed by central government no matter which party is in power. And he can handle co-governance, but won't suffer fools. If elected mayor, Wayne Brown will open the books echoing the late Penny Bright's demands. He will take seriously the oath to uphold the law as outlined in the Local Government Act, which calls for open, transparent and accountable governance, and if he waivers, I will be there to hold his feet to the fire!

New Zealand Herald writer Simon Wilson publically challenged Brown's skills, honesty and experience, but then turns a blind eye to the culture of arrogance, disrespect and bullying within council controlled organisations towards community groups questioning their authority.

Brownie, as he is affectionately known, will restructure Auckland Transport by appointing a new board of directors and include elected members dumped by the previous Mayor Goff. It's true Wayne Brown isn't everybody's cup of tea, but he will roll up his sleeves, put on his gum boots and march down into the Central Railway Link (CRL) demanding the job be done on time and within budget. Brown wants competency not fantasy. He will limit cycleway spend to $200 a metre, which would have trimmed $5000 a metre off the likes of Franklin Rd and West Lynn cycleways. I hope Wayne will be the one to bring back tree protection and stop carcinogenic glysophate being sprayed monthly in our streets when high pressure steam would do the same job and not poison us. Perhaps when he sees the evidence of Auckland’s heritage blue stone curbing being purloined he will come down on council contractors like a ton of bricks.

Wayne is unashamedly determined to make the Port of Auckland pay its way. Trains of containers will shift freight to an inland port in south Auckland throughout the day. Congestion will ease as trucks stop hauling imports across town and the harbour will finally be opened up to the public. He is a number cruncher, a spreadsheet reader, a bloke who enjoys a good laugh, and he will openly share campaign stories without giving any confidences away.

Wayne is keen to work with experienced local body representatives like Mike Lee, Christine Fletcher, John Watson, Wayne Walker and Greg Sayers - people who focus on the real needs of the public.

As the mayor holds just one vote, Wayne Brown is determined to build a coalition of common sense. Questioning the concept of an A and B team, he will reward innovation and imagination while challenging party political dogma.

Protecting heritage is a no-brainer, as is encouraging brown field developments, rather then gobbling up our precious arable land in Pukekohe and Rodney. Challenging the government's mandate to mess with the character of inner city suburbs is high on his priority list.

Sure, Brown is not a pin up boy for politics. He’s flawed and has a reputation, but I like that he understands small business, local people, the importance of freedom of movement and the need to protect our very special environment, both built and natural. That's why I am out and proud about supporting Wayne Brown for mayor. (LISA PRAGER)

www.fixauckland.co.nz