- By Damian Light, Howick Local Board chairperson
The Howick Local Board has an aspiration that our sports and recreational opportunities respond to the changing needs of our communities.
With a limited budget and growing population, this isn’t an easy task, but one we’re committed to.
We recently celebrated the Howick Sports Awards for 2024.
Every year we’re blown away by the amazing talent in our area, creating a challenge for our judges to pick the best.
We’re proud to see east Auckland represented at a local, regional, national, and global level.
And we know they don’t do it alone – that’s why we celebrate the coaches, administrators and volunteers who enable these stars to shine. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!
Providing play opportunities for all people
We don’t just cater for the top athletes and continue to invest in less formal play activities like free activations in our parks.
We have 70 playgrounds across the local board area and as these reach the end of their life, they need replacing.
This provides an opportunity to make sure they’re fit for modern play and address gaps (especially in some our newer neighbourhoods).
We’re looking at strategies to cost-effectively deliver a fairer outcome for everyone and will be engaging with the public soon.
To ensure we provide a range of options that cater to the diverse people in our communities, staff are conducting an accessibility audit to help us understand where our gaps are.
Together with consideration of fencing, toilets and transport, this will help us ensure we’re providing what the community needs and ensuring accessibility for all.
We’ve also committed to investigating a dedicated sensory play space, acknowledging that diversity takes many forms.
And we’re expecting to confirm the final plans for the Barry Curtis destination playground soon.
Public feedback has helped create some awesome designs that we can’t wait to share with you so look out for them!
