Whau Local Board calls to protect its green space
Whau Local Board is calling for a plan for the Whau area to maintain, provide and increase access to green spaces.
The board is looking for Auckland Council’s Planning Committee or Panuku Development Auckland to create a plan that maps all current social amenity and green spaces in Whau - Avondale in particular, in partnership with a steering group made up of major landholders in the area.
The board also recognises that protections for the vast majority of trees have been lost following changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) in 2015, opening up the potential for significant loss of the tree canopy in the area and that household access to green spaces should be maintained or increased.
Protecting the environment
Board Chair Kay Thomas says that protecting the environment is something the recently adopted local board plan has a focus on.
“We have seen instances recently where intensification has come at the expense of our existing green space or much-loved trees.
“As a board, we have taken the position that we need to both look after the stewardship of the land, and to put the environment at the heart of all the decisions that we make.
“We need better-informed decisions to be made to help preserve the local environment, protect our trees and ensure the neighbourhoods of tomorrow have the same access to nature and green space as the generations before them did.”
Green spaces
Board member Jessica Rose, who tabled the proposal along with member Fasitua Amosa, says that it is about protecting the area.
“Given the significant intensification of housing and growth that we have seen that is projected to continue, it’s more important than ever that our green space is protected.
“While the changes to the RMA have enabled the growth that is needed, it’s important that we also ensure that green spaces and spaces with tree canopy cover, which we know are a vital part of making an area a great place to live, are also taken into account.
“A spatial plan for the area would go some way to achieving that goal.”