Henderson-Massey Local Board has the second highest population of Auckland’s 21 local boards – nearly 120,000 people. This is about the same as Dunedin.
Board chair Shane Henderson says the size of this population means there will be a diversity of views and needs, so he is taking each suburb in turn and exploring it in depth.
“I’ve lived in west Auckland all my life so I know the area well, but as chair I want to get as much knowledge as I can about the views of residents in different areas, as well as getting to know our local parks and facilities,” says Shane.
“I’m focusing on one suburb at a time, where over several days I visit all public facilities and parks, meet with community leaders and hold a community clinic for people’s local issues.”
“I’m also door knocking a sample of houses to get a feel for what residents think about the area and what their concerns are. I want to hear the issues from people who haven’t felt empowered to speak up, but who are proud of their community and want to take action.”
“While we can’t change the world overnight, I’m sure there will be things that we can help improve for our community. I also hope to make a new friend or two!”
What next
So far Shane has visited Glendene and Henderson South and will be visiting Ranui this coming week.
“From my explorations so far, I’ve found some real signage and wayfinding issues in local parks. There’s also a concern in Glendene that there isn’t enough for youth to do, and that they have to leave the community to be entertained.”
“I’m looking forward to continuing my travels in my own backyard!”
If you would like to know when Shane will be in your area, please get in touch at shane.henderson@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.
