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Auckland, September 24, 2019
The Communities and Residents (C&R) Orakei local board team are full steam ahead as they approach the local body elections date on October 12, 2019.
The new team of Scott Milne, Troy Elliot, Sarah Powrie and Margaret Voyce join incumbent local board members Troy Churton, Colin Davis and David Wong.
Each member brings a community vision and pragmatism to support the constituents they represent.
People’s ire raised
The key issues facing the board area of 10 Eastern suburbs including Ellerslie, Meadowbank and Remuera are several fold.
Over the past three years, the profile of Auckland Transport has raised the ire of many local residents and recently the unilateral decision to remove carparks in the busy Mission Bay and St Heliers town centres caused consternation amongst business owners. The C&R team will ensure a voice for local residents and ensure AT consults on suburban proposals and is held accountable.
The provisions of the Unitary Plan will be closely monitored by the C&R team. This will ensure developments complement the designs of current established suburban homes and landscapes. The consent and planning local board team led by member Churton has been vigilant in challenging high rise apartments and other designs such as the recent proposed Mission Bay shopping development.
Community Development Plans
The C&R team are committed to seeing the proposed Meadowbank Community Centre designed, funded and built – to provide a much needed facility for all ages and capable of holding community activities and programmes. The team see this centre as future proofing a suburban hub for generations to come.
The Glen Innes – Tamaki Drive cycle and walkway is progressing but not fast enough. The C&R team will demand more collaboration and effort from Auckland Council, AT and NZ Transport to finish all the stages so residents can enjoy the benefits of alternative access from the eastern suburbs to the shoreline of Tamaki Drive. Another key link is the Gowing Drive initiative which will provide access from the Meadowbank valley side up towards Eastridge. The C&R team can see the benefits of residents and students in particular being able to travel seamlessly to schools such as St Thomas and Selwyn College and to the shopping mall.
Extensive expertise
Each team member brings a background of corporate, business, legal and city planning expertise. Current local board member David Wong said, “I am impressed with the talents and skills that the C&R team brings and their commitment to being representatives of their community and ensuring the right projects and the right amount of spend is apportioned fairly and equitably.”
The team is proud to be supporting the current local ward councillor Desley Simpson who is also a C&R wider team candidate. Desley has been a hard working advocate across all of Orakei and been a loyal and dedicated voice at the Governing Body Council table.
Please vote for all C&R team members.
