Upper Harbour Local Board will benefit from almost $17 million of funding to maintain and enhance parks, sport and recreation, community services and facilities, governance and environmental management in the 2018/2019 financial year.
Key local board initiatives receiving funding include:
- the development of a comprehensive Upper Harbour Open Space Management Plan to help management of parks to ensure they continue to meet the community’s needs
- environmental improvement projects to improve and restore the area, such as contributing to Auckland’s Ngahere (Urban Forest) Strategy, continued support for the Upper Harbour North-West Wildlink Assistance Programme and the Sustainable Schools Project – ‘Our Local Streams’
- projects to reduce waste and pollution through an Industrial Pollution Prevention Programme in Rosedale and an ambassador programme for small building sites to reduce their impact on the local environment
- reviewing and updating the current Greenways Plan to provide a sound basis for further investment in walking and cycling in parks.
In response to community aspirations, Upper Harbour Local Board successfully advocated for a new multi-use, indoor sports facility in Whenuapai to be included as part of Auckland Council’s 10-year budget process.
Local board chair Margaret Miles says, "With rapid population growth across our area, facilities like these will be required for our new and current residents located in and around Whenuapai.
“We will receive $100,000 in the coming financial year to undertake the business case phase of our initiative, and this will provide a firm basis for the next phase of the project.
“Timeframes for the project have not yet been confirmed, but we’ll be doing all we can to have this project advanced as quickly as possible so that we can continue to appropriate facilities for indoor sports."
