Myth-busting: buying and selling parks and open space

Auckland Council purchased land for another 13 new parks and open spaces at a cost of $44.2 million during the 2018/19 financial year. This figure exceeds the $43.7 million the council spent on new parks and open space for Aucklanders in 2017/2018.

“Land that we bought in the last financial year will give us over 29 hectares of new parks and open space,” says Councillor Penny Hulse, chair of the council’s Environment and Community Committee.

“In strong contrast, we sold only 0.48 hectares of non-service land in the same timeframe. There seems to be a feeling out there that the council is selling off lots of park land and that’s simply not true. Non-service park land we sold is a tiny fraction, just 1.63 per cent, of the land that we purchased for parks and open space in the last financial year.”

“This council strongly believes in the value of parks and open space, that’s why we spent over $44 million for just this purpose. It is clear to see the value we place on open space; this expenditure is even higher than what we spent on new parks and open space in 2017/2018,” stressed Councillor Hulse.

“We’ve acquired 62 new parks in the past three financial years. These are brand new spaces for Aucklanders to play and enjoy sport and recreation. It’s an absolute myth that we are getting rid of large tracts of parks and open space. We are actively expanding our parks and open space network as Auckland grows and develops.”

"Our recent land purchases respond to growth in greenfield areas. They align with the council’s Open Space Provision Policy and will help ensure that Aucklanders continue to have access to parks and open space for sport and recreation."

The purchase of new park land and open space far outweighed the sale of non-service parks in the 2018/2019 financial year.

Where are the new parks and open spaces?

• Eight new neighbourhood parks were purchased in 2018/2019.
• Land was also bought for a future civic space in Glen Eden as part of Waitākere Ranges Local Board One Local Initiative.
• A new suburb park in Massey will be made possible by the purchase of 5.19 hectares on Don Buck Road. This park is one of several open spaces planned for the Redhill Precinct.
• Development of a 10-hectare sports park, indicated in the Whenuapai Structure Plan, will be enabled by the purchase of 4.88 hectares at Trig Road in Whenuapai.
• Over 16.12 hectares was acquired at Brigham Creek Road for a sports park. (Partial funding of the acquisition came from the council’s Open Space Acquisition Budget. This will be refunded once additional compensation is provided by the New Zealand Transport Agency).

Local boards have decision-making responsibility for the development of new parks and open space including responsibility for maintenance.

Development and maintenance costs for new parks and open spaces are provided for in the council’s Long-term Plan 2018-2028 as a percentage of the acquisition cost.

Non-service parks disposals

Local boards supported the sale of the following non-service parks in their areas in 2018/2019:

• Vacant land zoned informal recreation in Franklin (815m²)
• Vacant land zoned informal recreation in Franklin (1019m²)
• Vacant land zoned informal recreation in Henderson-Massey (583m²)
• Vacant land zoned road reserve in Henderson-Massey (656m²)
• Vacant land zoned informal recreation in Howick (681m²)
• Recreation reserve Ōtara-Papatoetoe (a piece of land in an industrial area currently used as overflow car parking by surrounding businesses) (1072m²)

Newly acquired land is for future parks and open spaces. They will be formed, landscaped and developed to coincide with future or developing neighbouring residential or commercial developments. It is important to note that there can be a long lead time before development of parks and open space takes place. The council buys land early so as to reduce costs and to ensure that we can guarantee the delivery of the parks and open spaces that Aucklanders love and regularly use.

The majority of the new sites are barren pieces of land, super lots, subdivisions, or currently have buildings on them. They will be formed into parks and open space over time to coincide with new residents moving in or changes in the neighbouring community