14 September 2005

Community facilities get new home in Sylvia Park

Auckland City today made recommendations for a variety of community facilities to be included in Mt Wellington's Sylvia Park development.

The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and Plunket are two community-focused organisations that will be offered community lease space to operate in Sylvia Park.

Councillor Cathy Casey, chairperson of Auckland City's Community Development and Equity Committee says: “This is a wonderful development for Sylvia Park. We believe organisations providing general community services, such as the CAB and Plunket will be a great asset to Sylvia Park and the surrounding community.”

Space for community offices and seminar rooms will also be constructed as part of the development. This space will be similar to what is available at Onehunga Community Centre and will be available for bookings by community groups free of charge.

A library is not planned at this stage of the development but council is undertaking further research and will be monitoring the development of Sylvia Park says Paul McAleer, customer services manager for Auckland City Libraries.

"The research and monitoring will help us to understand the implications of retail and demographic changes on the wider area, and how community needs for a library service might best be met. Within a 15-20 minute radius of Sylvia Park there are already three libraries, all accessible by bus, train and car, which service the more densely populated communities of Mt Wellington, Panmure, Otahuhu and Glen Innes,” he says.

ENDS

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