Increased carparking and improved transport facilities could be on the cards for an iconic section of Waiheke Island as the first steps of a detailed plan are undertaken.
A project team including Waiheke Local Board, council officers, Direction Mātiatia and Ngati Paoa representatives have begun collaboration towards a new future for Mātiatia.
The Mātiatia Plan will be developed in two stages. Firstly, principles and outcomes and an overall plan will be delivered. Secondly, testing with key stakeholders and public consultation will take place on a more detailed plan.
Waiheke Local Board Chair Cath Handley said developing the plan in two stages enabled the board to test whether the overall direction the project team was developing resonated with its community.
Ms Handley noted that Stage 1 sought to closely reflect the strong and clear feedback received on the 2017 Direction Mātiatia Inc. led survey.
The headline findings of these surveys as reported and analysed on Direction Mātiatia’s website included that:
- 84 per cent of respondents wanted improved transport facilities
- 63 per cent said car parking should be increased
- 70 per cent supported limited development such as a visitor centre
- 80 per cent didn’t want any residential development, visitor accommodation or an events centre
- 88 per cent wanted green open space especially around the foreshore
- 79 per cent supported better protection of the natural environment and ecology
- 85 per cent of respondents knew that parts of the land at Mātiatia is sacred to Ngati Paoa.
Auckland Transport has allocated $15m in its 10-year plan for transport improvements at Mātiatia subject to the business case for this stacking up and getting the support of the NZ Transport Agency.
Ms Handley acknowledged that progress had been slower than the local board would have liked but that “it is important that we get this right and take both the collaborating parties and the community along with us, and that is why we are adopting a two-stage approach”.
