Albert-Eden Local Board has voted to offer the Auckland Horticultural Council a three-year lease at new premises just a short distance from where it has been operating for the last 40 years.
The AHC currently meets at the Auckland Council-owned Chamberlain Park clubhouse at 990 Great North Road. That lease ends on 31 July this year and the clubhouse site has been identified as the preferred location for a Community Recycling Centre after investigations by the Albert-Eden, Puketāpapa and Waitemata Local Boards.
An exhaustive two-year search of the central isthmus area turned up only two potential council-owned sites, but the other had an alternative use. This will be the first recycling centre on the Auckland isthmus.
The local board is offering the AHC space in rooms at the rear of the Western Springs Garden Community Hall Building at 956 Great North Road.
The board has decided the rooms will be renovated at the council’s expense and a nominal rental fee of $1 per annum will be charged for the term of the new lease.
“This really is a very good offer,” says Albert-Eden Local Board Chair Dr Peter Haynes.
“The AHC’s current premises are somewhat insalubrious and requiring major work. We’re spending a lot of money to provide refurbished premises that meet the AHC’s needs and with roughly the same amount of space.
"We value the Auckland Horticultural Society and would like to work with them on a number of projects, including around the new recycling centre."
The new premises also offer several benefits, such as the AHC being able to advance book the large hall, and have exclusive use of three meeting rooms, a refurbished kitchen and three reserved parking spots in a large carpark.
The hall will be managed by the Auckland Council’s venue hire teams. Considering that booking this would be an additional cost to the AHC, the local board has extended support by offering to meet the costs of four hours rental per month for 12 months, an estimated $1920 plus GST.
Discussions on a shift for the AHC to newer and renovated premises in the Western Springs Garden Community Hall on the same site have failed to reach agreement as yet.
