Incoming Howick ward councillor Maurice Williamson is strongly criticising efforts by Auckland Council to sell several local public reserves.
Williamson was elected to the role on October 8 and he’s wasting no time in hitting out at the council’s goal of revoking the reserve status of the public park in Fortyfoot Lane, Sunnyhills, and others so they can be sold.
“I’ll do whatever I can to stop them from selling them off and hope we can reverse the Fortyfoot Lane [decision],” he says.
The reserve is among the properties across the city the council wants to sell in an effort to raise $244 million from “asset recycling”.
Among the local properties initially on the chopping block were public reserves at 111R Golfland Drive, Botany; 76R Aberfeldy Avenue, Pakuranga, and the one in Fortyfoot Lane.
The council also wants to sell a section at 72R Karaka Road, Beachlands, and part of site of a gas station at 2R Ti Rakau Drive, Pakuranga.
Before they can be sold a statutory process, which entails revoking their reserve status, must be followed.
Several months ago the council voted to not move forward with trying to revoke the reserve status of the park in Golfland Drive.
Howick ward councillor Sharon Stewart put forward a notice of motion, which was voted down, at a council committee meeting in July to repeal the revocation of reserve status of the park in Fortyfoot Lane.
Her motion was supported by the Howick Local Board and several Sunnyhills residents who attended the meeting and presented to the committee’s members.
Williamson says housing intensification needs to be done properly and existing green spaces must be protected.
“The practice of housing intensification has been ghastly and we’ve seen some appalling signs of massive, absolutely disgraceful looking things being shoved right next to residential areas.
“If you’re going to have intensification, the one thing you have to have as a partner for that is the maintenance of green space.
“You’ve got to keep the parks and reserves and you can’t create new ones so let’s not get rid of what we’ve got already.
“The idea they [the council] have to sell Fortyfoot Lane to try to balance their budget – that was the rationale for it.
“That sounds like trying to sell off the family silver so you can pay for lunch.”
Williamson says the idea the council can fix its budget by selling a small reserve in east Auckland “is just wrong”.
“What if they sell Cornwall Park?
“Guess what an outrage that would be if they suggested it, or Auckland Domain.
“They wouldn’t even think of suggesting it.
“It’s just too easy, and councillors who have never been out to this part of the world let alone know where Fortyfoot Lane is, they got to decide [to sell it] and I think that’s wrong.
“I think if anyone makes a decision about a little piece of reserve like Fortyfoot Lane, it should be the Howick Local Board that makes that decision.”
