Media statement: Roskill Community Voice backs Three Kings Alternative Plan in Environment Court, despite Auckland Council gagging

“The Roskill Community Voice team on the Puketapapa Local Board have formally voted to back the local Three Kings community and the alternative development scheme for Three Kings, developed by leading landscape architect Richard Reid”, say Local Board members Harry Doig and Michael Wood

“At a Local Board meeting last week, we formally expressed our support for the alternative plan developed by Mr Reid and gave it our political endorsement, even though Auckland Council is formally gagging the Local Board from being heard in the Environment Court case about the Three Kings development” says Mr Doig.

“Mr Reid’s alternative development scheme (available here) has our support because:

• It delivers a strong residential yield, allowing for high-quality medium density development in the quarry, and supporting further residential development opportunities for surrounding land-owners.
• It provides adequate open space and communal space for apartment dwellers and the local community.
• It respects and rehabilitates our remaining maunga Te Tatua-a- Riukiuta/Big King by providing a sufficient buffer between development and the cone.
• It is a high quality, modern design that creates connections across the community, and enables local residents to walk, cycle, or easily connect to public transport.

On every count, Mr Reid’s alternative plan is superior to the Fletcher Residential Plan, which raids and effectively privatises public reserve land, compromises Big King, and creates housing in a large depression up to nineteen metres deep, disconnected from the surrounding community”, says Mr Wood.

“Auckland Council has now formally blocked the Local Board from being heard in the Environment Court process on behalf of the local community. However the Board has given its political endorsement to Board members Harry Doig and Michael Wood giving evidence in their personal capacities in support of the alternative plan. Disappointingly, the C&R minority on the Board have called for the Board to be “passive by-standers” and continue to support the Fletchers position, rather than the local community”, says Mr Doig.

“The re-development of Three Kings is a major issue in our community and a huge opportunity if done well. We and the community support high quality medium density housing, developed in sympathy with the sensitive volcanic landscape, and connected to the surrounding community”, says Mr Wood.

ENDS

Contact:

Harry Doig: 027 241 2209

Michael Wood: 022 659 6360

Three Kings Land Exchange decision Nov 2015 media coverage

Links covering the debate and decision of the Auckland Development Committee yesterday in relation to the Three Kings Land Exchange proposal.

• NZ Herald:  Controversial land swap approved in Auckland (immediately after land exchange vote)
• NZ Herald:  Controversial apartment development gets the go-ahead (broader article covering plan change and comment from Roskill Community Voice, Minister Smith, Penny Hulse)
• Roskill Community Voice media statement:  Local Board to fight...
• Auckland Live video clips of the Auckland Development Committee meeting - includes presentation from Three Kings Community Action (Public input), Michael Wood on behalf of Puketapapa Local Board (Item 13, part 1), officer presentations and questions, debate and voting from councillors (Item 13, part 2 onwards)

Media release: Local Board will fight Three Kings Land Exchange Decision

Local Board will fight Three Kings Land Exchange Decision

“Today’s decision by the Auckland Development Committee (ADC) to support the proposed Three Kings land exchange (for recommendation to the Minister) will be fought by the Puketapapa Local Board”, say Roskill Community Voice members of the Puketapapa Local Board; Harry Doig, Julie Fairey, David Holm, and Michael Wood. 

“On behalf of our community, we made a reasonable request today: that one other option for development of the site be seriously considered before a land exchange proceeds. We were disappointed that the ADC was unwilling to commit Council to a serious consideration of the alternative, a plan developed by leading landscape architect Richard Reid”

“We find it astonishing that a major land transaction involving public land worth many tens of millions of dollars may proceed with no thorough consideration of the options, and we note that the option that is proceeding is based solely on the proposal tabled by the developer (Fletcher Residential) at the beginning of the process”

“Many Aucklanders who care deeply about our volcanic landscape will also be alarmed to learn that the proposal approved by Council, which builds around the flanks of Te tatua a Riukiuta (Big King) has not had a landscape assessment completed. At a time when Auckland is preparing a World Heritage status bid for our Maunga it seems extraordinary that Council would approve a plan that involves large buildings up against Big King’s edge, while ignoring a development plan put forward by one of New Zealand’s leading experts in the rehabilitation of volcanic landscapes”

“We also lament the lost opportunity to build some unity around one of Auckland’s largest brownfield intensification projects. We support significant residential development on the site, and so would the community were there a proper process to address legitimate concerns such as the need to rehabilitate the volcanic landscape. If this is how Auckland Council manages large scale intensification with a pro-compact-city Local Board, how badly will things go in other areas? Alienating and cutting out Local Boards will lead to chaos and division at a time when Auckland desperately needs unity to build more houses” 

“Our Local Board has consistently advocated for a quality development at Three Kings that takes account of the volcanic landscape. We could build a large number of houses on the site, while respecting and enhancing our natural heritage and responding to community expectations. It is unfortunate that Auckland Council has turned its back on that opportunity. We reserve our options to fight this poor decision”, say the Board members.

ENDS

Contact:

Michael Wood – 022-659-6360

Puketāpapa Local Board resolutions on Liston Village

This will record resolutions and similar position statements made by the Puketapapa Local Board in relation to Liston Village, in chronological order from oldest to newest.

From the Puketāpapa Local Board Plan 2014
Under Key Initiatives for Healthy, Safe People and Places, p44:

Investigate options for increasing supply of affordable community and social housing, including advocating to retain existing social housing at Liston Village.   

From the Minutes of the 28th August 2015 Puketāpapa Local Board business meeting, pp10, 11

Item 16 Puketāpapa Local Board Small Local Improvement Projects (SLIPs) Programme 2014- 2015 
Resolution number PKTPP/2014/163
MOVED by Deputy Chairperson HAJ Doig, seconded by Member MP Wood:

That the Puketāpapa Local Board:
a) acknowledges receipt of the Puketāpapa Local Board 2014/2015 SLIPs funding summary programme
b) delegates authority to the spokesperson to provide guidance and advice to the SLIPs team regarding their allocated proposals and delegates authority to the spokesperson and chair of the board, to be exercised together, to make additional funding decisions where a variation to a project scope is needed due to unforeseen circumstances
...
q) allocates $10,000 SLIPs Operational budget towards a study to establish the feasibility of retaining community social housing for the elderly at the Liston Village site in Hillsborough (when it transfers to Council ownership) and to provide advice about the ownership and governance options for preserving the village as community social housing for the elderly through a partnership arrangement between Auckland Council and a third sector housing provider.

r) request that expert advice on the community social housing sector is sought as part of the report.

s) delegates Member MP Wood to act as spokesperson for this project and to consult with affected stakeholders about the Board’s approach.

t) agrees to advocate to the Governing Body for additional social housing in Puketāpapa
...

CARRIED



From the Minutes of the 27th August 2015 Puketāpapa Local Board business meeting, p8-9

Item 14.2  Board Member report - Michael Wood 
Resolution number PKTPP/2015/170
MOVED by Member MP Wood, seconded by Deputy Chairperson HAJ Doig:

That the Puketāpapa Local Board:
a) receive the report for August 2015.
...
c) receive the “Liston Village Housing for the Elderly Scoping Report” dated 26 August 2015 and:

i) note the findings of the report including information concerning the high level of unmet need for social housing in Hillsborough, and a general growth in demand for social housing for the elderly.

ii) authorise further detailed work to be carried out in line with the recommendations on page 20 of the report, utilising LDI funding for “Affordable and social housing options”.

iii) authorise release of the report to the public and authorise Member Wood to present the report to the Seniors Panel, the Community Development and Safety Committee and any other relevant Council bodies.

CARRIED

A copy of the Liston Village Housing for the Elderly – Stage One: Scoping report will be placed on the official minutes and is available on the Auckland Council website as a minute attachment.


Article "Monte Cecilia Park: Puketāpapa advocates to retain Liston Village" on Auckland Council news website Our Auckland - October 7th 2015

Media release: Stretched Council Budget should not be used to demolish Liston Village

Ahead of this weekend's public meeting to oppose the demolition of Liston Village, the fiscal costs of the plan are being questioned.

"We believe that it is wrong to demolish a successful social housing community for Seniors in the middle of a housing crisis. We also believe it is the wrong priority for Council to spend its stretched budget on the unpopular demolition plan", says Roskill Community Voice member of the Puketapapa Local Board Michael Wood.

"Multiple industry sources have indicated that demolition of the twenty five units could cost up to one million dollars, based on broad standard costings. Any plans to develop the space as parkland over and above grass would require additional funding"

"We all know that Council budgets are under enormous pressure. Why would such a large sum be spent on a project that removes desperately needed social housing for Seniors when there are other pressing needs in our city? This is not a project that the local community wants"

"The plan to demolish Liston was agreed by the old Auckland City Council just before it was amalgamated. Our campaign will call on the new Auckland Council to re-visit that decision. We believe that a strong community campaign can convince Council to move away from the wasteful demolition plan it has inherited"

"The campaign to save the village will be formally launched at a public meeting on Sunday 11 October from 2pm at the Fickling Centre, Three Kings. Phil Goff MP, Councillor Cathy Casey, Local Board member Michael Wood, and Anne-Marie Coury from Grey Power will all be speaking in support of the campaign. All are welcome", says Michael Wood.

ENDS

Contact:

Michael Wood – 022-659-6360

Event page: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/935572809844061/

Save Liston Village media coverage

The Save Liston Village campaign coverage will be listed here, with links:

• Liston Retirement Village vital to Auckland - Central Leader on 27th August
• Battle to save retirement site - NZ Herald on 6th October
• Local Auckland group opposes demolition of pensioner village - Checkpoint (audio) on 7th October
• What's happening at Monte Cecilia Park - Our Auckland (Auckland Council website) on 7th October
• Petition ramps up campaign to save Liston Village - Central Leader on 14th October
• Puketapapa advocates to retain Liston Village - Our Auckland (Auckland Council website) on 14th October

Media release: Campaign to Save Liston Village launched

“In the middle of a housing crisis, how can it be that Auckland Council is planning to demolish a thriving social housing community for Senior Citizens?”, asks Roskill Community Voice member of the Puketapapa Local Board Michael Wood , who is organising a community campaign and public meeting to save Liston Village.

“Liston Village is a community of Senior citizens in Hillsborough. There are twenty five good quality units and it has been a part of the Puketapapa/Mt Roskill community since 1983. Under a deal between Council and the Catholic Diocese struck in the dying days of Auckland City Council, the Village will be purchased by Council. The current plan is to demolish the village to increase the entrance-way to Monte Cecilia Park”

“This plan made limited sense in 2010, and even less in 2015 during a housing crisis. Independent research commissioned by the Puketapapa Local Board confirms that there is a growing population of ‘financially stressed’ Seniors in Puketapapa/Mt Roskill, and that Hillsborough has the highest unmet need for social housing in Auckland”.

“How can it be that the benefits of widening the entrance-way to Monte Cecilia Park outweigh the benefits of retaining a functional social housing community for our Seniors? How can it be that it is a good use of Council funds to demolish the village in a tight fiscal environment?”

“We are calling on Auckland Council to take the required policy steps to stop the demolition and retain Liston Village. A broad community coalition is coming together to support the campaign, and a petition will be launched at our public meeting on 11 October. Speaking at the meeting will be:

•        MP for Mt Roskill Phil Goff
•        Albert-Eden-Roskill Governing Body member Cathy Casey
•        Auckland isthmus Grey Power President Anne-Marie Coury
•        Puketapapa Local Board member Michael Wood

“All are welcome to the public meeting which will be held at 2pm on Sunday 11 October at the Fickling Centre, Three Kings. Working together we can stand up for our Seniors, and convince Auckland Council to save Liston Village”, says Michael Wood

ENDS

Contact:

Michael Wood – 022-659-6360

Event page: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/935572809844061/

Big King & surrounds - photo essay

This has been put together by our candidate Harry Doig, who lives in Three Kings and took his camera up the mountain one day recently.

The maunga that we love.

But it could be better!

Spot the weeds.

How about some interpretive signage?

And then we must grasp the opportunity when the quarry is decommissioned to not only ensure high quality housing but also to enhance the reserve.

They and us deserve better.

To find out more about our Vision For Three Kings, have a look here.

RCV Policy on Reducing harms

Our families deserve an environment in which social harms are reduced. We have advocated fearlessly on behalf of our community and will continue to push for a safe and healthy community environment.

• We will launch a drive towards making Mt Roskill/Puketapapa Auckland’s first pokie-free community. 
• Building on the success of smokefree playgrounds we commit to delivering smokefree parks in Puketapapa/Mt Roskill over the next three year term.  
• We support a sinking-lid approach to the number of off-license liquor stores in our community and more effective controls to prevent abuse of the rules. 
• Work to build relationships with Pacific and Maori wardens to develop a presence in Roskill. 
• Tackling graffiti by ensuring that it is removed immediately, and prevented by the installation of high quality anti-graffiti murals. Work with local community on mural design.  
• Work to make Roskill a synthetic-cannabis free zone. 
• We know that poverty and inequality are the root cause of many issues in our community. We will work to ensure that all of our people receive a fair go through policies such as the Living Wage and provision of good quality affordable and social housing.

Fairness For Wesley

The below is from our Fairness For Wesley campaign - a leaflet we have been sharing around Wesley for the last fortnight.

We are speaking up for fairness, for the whole Mt Roskill community, and especially here in Wesley.

Fairness means that people in our community have equal opportunities, support when it is needed, and a fair go.

Unfortunately, over a long period of time we have not been treated fairly. Did you know that for every $1 that Council spends in other communities on facilities and services for people, only 74 cents gets spent in Puketapapa/Mt Roskill? That isn’t right and we are here to fight for a fair deal.

Roskill Community Voice is your local team standing for the Puketapapa Local Board, working with City Vision candidates for Ward Councillor positions, at the Council elections. We are running a ‘Fairness for Wesley’ campaign to ensure that local people get a fair go.

Below you will find our policies to win Fairness for Wesley. We are the only team presenting a complete set of policies about local issues to the people of Wesley this election.

Our campaign to win Fairness for Wesley means a Local Board and Ward Councillors who will work with the community to achieve:

• Better library services - We need to instill a love of reading and learning in our young people, but Wesley has some of the poorest access to library services in Auckland. We will fight to bring better library services to Wesley. 
• Education and jobs for our people - We believe that Council can play a more active role in helping our young people into education, training and work. We will work actively to try and attract a tertiary education provider into our community, and develop pathways for young people to move through into apprenticeships, training, and good paying jobs. 
• A Living Wage - It is a matter of justice that people get paid enough to live on. With good incomes we can ensure that our families can afford good food, healthy housing, and adequate healthcare. We are the only team in Mt Roskill that is fully committed to the Living Wage. 
• Upgrading our Parks - We will take action to advance the upgrade of Walmsley/Underwood Park to better meet community needs. Members of the Roskill Community Voice team are also leading work to upgrade the Mt Roskill War Memorial. 
• Fair treatment for Housing - New Zealand tenants and neighbours Housing New Zealand is looking to make major changes to its housing stock and may look to intensify Wesley. We need to ensure that the voice of the local community is heard and that we retain public housing in our community for local people. 
• Rail to Roskill - We are the team who is leading the charge to bring Rail to Roskill. A train line from Avondale to Dominion Rd, with a station at Stoddard Rd would bring huge convenience and opportunity for our local community. 
• Traffic safety - It is time to take action on traffic safety issues in Wesley. We will back the local community and push for changes to improve safety on Sandringham Rd, O’Donnell St, and other areas of concern.

RCV Policy on Planning

Our community has been the victim of a lack of planning and vision for too long. We want to see thriving neighbourhoods, exciting town centres, quality urban environments, and appropriate affordable housing for our families. This will only happen through wide-ranging community involvement and strong local leadership.

Specific local policy on planning issues includes: 

Three Kings Issues The implementation of our comprehensive ‘Vision for Three Kings’ policy platform, including: 

• Creation of a dedicated 3 Kings planning spokesperson on the Board. 
• Removal of the reservoir on Big King to return our maunga to a more natural state. Prior to this, the restoration of an attractive mural on the reservoir such as ‘Grumpy Cat’ 
• Advocating for the quarry development to include: 
• Restoration of Maunga and better open space as priorities 
• Affordable housing and social housing 
• High quality housing integrated into open space and town centre 
• A reduction in the proposed 8 storey height limit. 
• Protection and promotion of Three Kings heritage. 

Unitary Plan Issues 

• Providing appropriate capacity for growth around our town centres and key transport routes, while ensuring quality development and protection of open space and heritage. 
• A stronger focus on affordable and social housing for our community. 
• Advocating for well-considered intensification in Wesley, and Roskill South, with more distribution along main transport routes. 
• Strongly advocating for community input and better notification of developments. 
• Dealing with flooding. Advocacy for improved stormwater infrastructure, and better planning rules to prevent inappropriate development. 
• Strong protections for our local environment, heritage, and volcanic cones (including viewshafts)

An index of our released policy can be found here, we are continuing to release policy through-out the campaign.

Media release: Vision for Three Kings to be launched next week

Roskill Community Voice Media Release

8 August 2013

Vision for Three Kings to be launched next week 

“Three Kings was the birthplace of local government in Mt Roskill. One hundred years later it is time for local government to step up and deliver a clear vision for the future of Three Kings, as the community faces unprecedented change”, says Roskill Community Voice candidate for the Puketapapa Local Board Julie Fairey.

“The redevelopment of Three Kings quarry into a major residential sub-division, and proposed Unitary Plan changes mean that the Three Kings of the future will be different. We say that this change needs to be guided by a strong local vision to ensure that the needs and aspirations of the Three Kings community are met”, says Roskill Community Voice candidate for the Puketapapa Local Board Harry Doig.

“We have been listening to the Three Kings community and next week will launch our Vision for Three Kings as part of an integrated policy package about Three Kings issues. Our vision will cover key issues including: ·

• A plan to restore Big King, our neglected maunga. 
• Our vision for a quality quarry development with real public amenity 
• The Unitary Plan and how we ensure good community outcomes 
• Protection and promotion of Three Kings’ local heritage and character 

“A key part of our vision will be an exciting new campaign to ‘Restore Big King’. An announcement about this campaign will be made at the launch event”, says Julie Fairey.

“Our ‘Vision for Three Kings’ and ‘Restore Big King’ campaign will be launched on Saturday 17 August in Three Kings. Local residents can find out about the Vision by checking www.roskillcv.org.nz, contacting us to request a copy of our ‘Vision for Three Kings’ policy booklet, or attending the launch from 3pm on Saturday 17 August. Places are limited so people need to contact us ASAP on roskillcv@gmail.com or on 620-9257 to reserve a place at the launch. We are excited about our Vision for Three Kings and hope that the local community will be too”, says Harry Doig.

ENDS

Media welcome to attend launch event on Saturday 17 August from 3pm.   Please contact Julie or Harry for details.

Contact: Julie Fairey - 09 620-9257 and 027 285 7734 or
Harry Doig – 09 623 4920 and 027 241 2209