Upper Harbour Draft Local Board Plan out for submissions
Restoring upper harbour tidal flows, building an aquatic facility at Albany, advocating for an extension of the Northern Busway to Orewa and lobbying for park and ride facilities at Silverdale, are among the key projects in the Upper Harbour Local Board Plan now out for submissions.
The draft plan sets out the aspirations and priorities for the Upper Harbour during the next three years and provides the board with a framework to undertake activities on behalf of its communities.
Within Upper Harbour boundaries are the communities of Whenuapai, West Harbour, Herald Island, and Hobsonville in the west and Paremoremo, Greenhithe, Wainoni, Albany, Northcross, Unsworth and Pinehill in the east. The area contains the Paremoremo scenic reserve, the largest bush reserve on the North Shore and a site of ecological significance.
The board is taking a firm stand on containing urban sprawl, strongly advocating for the metropolitan urban limit to remain where it is. The limit provides clear delineation between rural and urban environments and protects valued rural areas and green spaces.
The board’s key projects have been identified following public feedback and will be further refined as a result of community views expressed during the submissions period, which ends at 4pm on August 8.
Upper Harbour Draft Local Board Plan summaries containing submission forms have been sent to every household and submissions can be made online via www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/haveyoursay
Board chair Brian Neeson wants people to get involved in the submissions process because the local board plans will feed into the Auckland Plan, which will guide Auckland’s future during the next 20 to 30 years.
“It’s important that what we have in our plan accurately portrays what our communities want,” he says. “We think we’ve got it right but we’d like people to tell us what they think.
“When people make a submission, they make an important contribution to how the Upper Harbour will look and feel in the future.”
Other key projects include:
- Monitoring upper harbour water quality
- Funding a youth recreation facility at Hooton Reserve, Albany
- Promoting and maintaining tracks in the Sanders Reserve, Paremoremo
- Restoring and improving Christmas Beach, Paremoremo
- Investigating the expansion of ferry services to Hobsonville and Greenhithe
- Monitoring lifestyle and industrial development in Hobsonville.