Local Board Update – November 2020
Healthy Harbours & Waterway Funding Available.
The gradual ecological degradation of our rivers and harbours has been an issue of concern for many in the community. Silt and nutrient runoff from a range of sources has seen bellwether events like the scallop fishery closure in the Kaipara. If measures are not taken to drastically change our impact on our waterways and harbours, we can expect more of these events.
The Rodney Local Board has heard the community concerns and in 2017 launched a Healthy Harbours Fund. Our approach was to work constructively with farmers and landowners to encourage riparian planting and fencing. In conjunction with industry bodies such as Fonterra and iwi we have dollar-matched landowner’s efforts to fence and replant river margins to limit nutrient and silt runoff with hundreds of kilometres of fencing and thousands of trees in the ground.
This year the government announced a $100m fund to address water quality in the Kaipara. As one of the Auckland Council representatives on the Kaipara Moana Remediation Governance Partnership group I’m looking forward to being involved in ensuring this significant investment starts to make a tangible difference. The estimated costs of sorting out the Kaipara long term is estimated to be over $500m but this is an excellent first start, and it is heartening to see that our efforts locally will now be replicated on a larger scale for the whole harbour.
This fund has allowed the Local Board to open the fund to a wider range of applicants from outside the Kaipara catchment. There is no shortage of waterways in the area that are nutrient and silt-laden. Some rivers are in a poor state but are being used for swimming so assisting landowners upstream to improve them has an excellent environment and public health outcome.
If you’re interested in applying for a Rodney Local Board’s Healthy Harbours Fund grant you have until the 30th November to do this, you can find out more by googling ‘Rodney Local Board Healthy Harbours’ or visiting: https://tinyurl.com/y65aodyl
Huapai Indoor Courts Facility Update.
Work on the Indoor Courts facility for Huapai to meet the needs of a growing community has been disrupted by Covid19 and the ‘emergency budget’. The Local Board resolved to put our own funding towards continuing with the detailed business case to ensure this project progresses to the design and build stage as quickly as possible. A steering group of key sports group stakeholders and council staff has been formed to work on the business case with the aim of having this completed before April. We will be looking for a good show of public support for this project in the upcoming Long Term Plan consultation in February 2021.
Do you need assistance with Council issues?
You have four Local Board representatives available to assist you with questions or issues relating to Auckland Council. If you want to get in touch we are available to talk or meet with you.
Brent Bailey: 021 730 892 – brent.bailey@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Danielle Hancock: 021 195 9826 – danielle.hancock@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Phelan Pirrie: 021 837 167 – phelan.pirrie@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Vicki Kenny: 027 670 9968 – vicki.kenny@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
The RUB* 