MEDIA RELEASE

July 24, 2002

Council sets new grounds for community gardens

Auckland City has adopted a new policy on community gardens in order to identify where and how they should be placed in public spaces. This evolved out of a need to formalise guidelines for assessing them, sparked by recent public concern over Basque Park.

Under these new guidelines an orderly and consistent approach to community gardens across the city will help to ensure good management by council. Community gardens can provide food, recreation and therapeutic opportunities for a community and do form an important part of the city, where they exist overseas.

The Basque Park community garden caused controversy when a local church group began using the area as a community garden several years ago, causing public debate on the legitimacy of their occupation of local parks.

Recreation and Events Committee Chairman, Scott Milne, sees the policy as an evolving document which might also include land not owned by council.

Cr Milne says the council will be initiating discussions with Tranzrail, in regard to possible use of land alongside transport corridors.

“These areas could be made available for community gardens, a practice that is
widespread in many other developed cities.

“There is still work to be done to refine some of the finer points of the policy, but fundamentals are now set in place to give both council staff and the public ground rules for community gardens,” says Cr Milne.

ENDS

© Scoop Media