Have your say on the future of Remuera and Auckland, by Wed 28 March 2018

Remuera Heritage is submitting on Auckland Council's draft Ten Year Plan and also the Auckland Plan and we encourage all members to make their own submissions on both plans. Submissions are due by 8pm on 28 March. Get a copy of the paper Have Your say form from the Remuera library or go online to akhaveyoursay.co.nz 

10 Year Plan Budget / Long Term Plan 

 There is nothing included for Remuera in the 10 year plan or budget. 

1. Community facilities:  

a. Remuera needs a community centre to service its diverse community needs with a focus on the town centre and the library. There are only 2 community facilities in Remuera – the Remuera Library and 4 Victoria Avenue which houses the CAB and Plunket. There are no rooms available for hire at the current facility at 4 Victoria Avenue, the future of which is very uncertain. 

b. Remuera is a substantial size district with a diverse population of 28,000. It has a large long-established town centre. There is a need to service a large area with a growing diverse community, focused on the town centre 

c. Proceeds from any sale of Victoria Avenue should be reinvested in the Remuera community – in a Remuera community centre in the Remuera town centre. 

2. Village Green and buildings: It is unclear what is happening to the Village Green area at the back of the shops. The brick buildings were the original Remuera Roads Board office and works depot, and then Remuera’s first fire station. We would like to know about the redevelopment, intensification, any loss of heritage buildings and green space (the Village Green) – the Remuera community needs to be kept informed.

3. Ohinerau/Mt Hobson: Remuera Heritage supports the Tūpuna Maunga Authority’s proposed management plan and operational plan for Ohinerau Mt Hobson, focusing on upgraded paths and signage, pest control and regular vegetation management and maintenance. Also important for Remuera Heritage is the preservation of the memorials to the Remuera service men and women who served in WW2 – this includes the daffodils on the northern slope. 

4. Cultural Heritage: The 10 year plan budget also needs to include increased budget for key Auckland cultural heritage institutions – Auckland Museum, the Auckland Art Gallery, MOTAT and the Sir George Grey Special Collections at Auckland Libraries. They all have urgent need for improved infrastructure to meet visitor needs and protection of collections over the next 10 to 20 years. 

In particular, all Auckland Councillors must support Mayor Phil Goff's proposal of the 1 February 2018 to increase the Auckland Art Gallery's funding by $20m over the next ten years as part of the LTP. We request this amount is targeted for the Auckland Art Gallery when the annual Auckland Council distribution is made to Regional Facilities Auckland. 

Auckland Plan 2020-2050 

Remuera Heritage is submitting on the draft Auckland Plan and we encourage all members to make their own submission. Submissions are due by 8pm on 28 March. 

Our main concern is that the draft plan does not have a chapter on historic heritage or arts and culture, including cultural heritage. The previous Auckland Plan’s chapter 4 consists of 14 pages about the importance of the city’s historic heritage and the need to protect it. 

Page 8 of this chapter states: “On behalf of the community, the Auckland Council will continue to develop initiatives to ensure innovation, good practice and improved heritage outcomes.” It is important to submit that the chapter on historic heritage be put back into the plan. You can also ask that Focus Area 4 be amended to “Protect Auckland’s significant environments, cultural and historic heritage from further loss” and that Outcome 5 be amended to “Environment, Cultural and Historic Heritage.” 

Also ask for a reinstatement of the previous plan’s definition in the glossary of cultural heritage as: “The legacy of tangible heritage resources and intangible attributes that are inherited from past generations. Heritage includes historic heritage, taonga tuku iho (heirlooms), and other forms of heritage such as books, works of art, artefacts, beliefs, traditions, language and knowledge”.