Despite wet and windy weather, some seventy people turned up for our public meeting on 15 November to discuss Remuera’s community service needs and the fate of the council-owned community services building at 4 Victoria Avenue, Remuera. Attendees included Orakei Local Board Chairperson Colin Davis and members Troy Churton and Carmel Claridge; Remuera Heritage Chair Sue Cooper; Tess Porter from Remuera’s Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) and most members of the Remuera Residents Association (RRA) committee.
The meeting opened with a welcome from Iain Valentine, Chair of the Remera Residents’ Association, who went on to present a review of development proposed at 356 Remuera Road, and its implications for the community services building at 4 Victoria Avenue (for more on this, see our earlier post). Next, he presented an overview of related communications between the RRA, Auckland Council’s Community Facilities Department, and Panuku Development Auckland – the organisation responsible for buying, managing and selling Auckland Council’s properties. No decision had yet been made on the fate of 4 Victoria Avenue. Community Facilities and Panuku were working on a “community needs assessment” which would “include stakeholder engagement with the community” which they hoped to complete by February 2017.
Throughout, the RRA had stressed the community’s desire to keep the CAB and Plunket in Remuera, in a new, enhanced building with facilities for other community activities, on the 4 Victoria Avenue site, separate from any development at 356 Remuera Road and had emphasised that Panuku and Community Facilities should consult with the Remuera community before any decision on 4 Victoria Avenue was taken. Discussion followed, after which the meeting supported and endorsed the RRA’s consultation requirement. Orakei Local Board representatives undertook to ensure that this was done.
The RRA would soon launch a membership drive lift its capacity to communicate and consult with Remuera Residents.
The floor was then opened to other business. Matters raised included recent road resurfacing in Remuera, which seemed unnecessary and badly done; the lack of maintenance on Hobson Hill which, with long grass and broken fences seemed in sad disrepair – perhaps due to recent ownership and oversight changes; and the late opening of Parnell Pool unreasonably delayed to end-November this year for maintenance.
Orakei Local Board Members undertook to look into these issues.