A suburban park at the heart of a community revival has won international honours.
Randwick Park has been awarded Green Flag Award status as a world-class park.
The award is an international park and green spaces quality mark that assesses how well parks meet local community needs
Twenty-four flags were awarded in New Zealand this year, eight in Auckland, with Randwick Park joining three regional parks - Long Bay, Tawharanui and Ambury - Auckland Domain, Sanders Reserve, Waikumete Cemetery and Parrs Park.
Manurewa Local Board chair Joseph Allan says the award is a fitting recognition of how hard the local community has worked to put the park at the heart of the area’s revival.
“So many people have been involved and worked to create something special.
“The Randwick Park community has taken the park to its heart, and it is integral to what goes on in that community.
“It’s a triumph of optimism because there were plenty of people who decried the area after it suffered serious issues, but the community itself designed a way forward and put the park at the heart of that.”
Investment at Randwick Park has seen the development of improved facilities, including sports grounds and a revamped playground, community centre Manu Tukutuku built, and a skatepark that is the envy of the city.
“The community has been so active and quick to realise the park’s value, not in terms of the cost to build it, in terms of its social value.”
The awards set a benchmark for recreational outdoor spaces worldwide, assessing quality of services, safety, maintenance, community involvement and sustainability.
“As a council, we might be able to commit funds and partner in initiatives but without local residents, Randwick Park would be just another park, and it is clearly much more than that.”
Head of Parks Services Mark Bowater says winning a Green Flag award is an important international reference for the council.
“We know how much our parks mean to Aucklanders. Access to them is essential.”
In 2008 liquor store owner Navtej Singh was shot and killed in a robbery, an event that galvanised the local community, which marched in disgust at lawlessness in the area.
Manurewa-Papakura Councillor Daniel Newman defended the community, one he said was full of “decent, law-abiding people”, something evidenced by the donations forwarded to a trust set up by the New Zealand Sikh Society for the family.
He was instrumental in working with the local board, then chaired by now fellow Manurewa-Papakura councillor Angela Dalton, to revitalise the park and surrounding area.
“Back then there were drugs, violence and gang fights. It was tough. But there were always lots of decent people and it's they who drove change. The council’s $5million redevelopment started in 2010 and now the place is unrecognisable, with kids playing, the skatepark always humming and the community centre well-used.”
