16 October 2009

Papakura Lodges Submission On Ward Boundaries For Supercity

• Single-member ward to represent Papakura on main Auckland Council
• Papakura ward to take in Clevedon, Randwick Park, Hyperion
• Two local boards: Papakura and Clevedon

Papakura District Council is advocating a single-member Papakura ward to represent the people of the district on the new Auckland Council, and is proposing that in order to reach a population level benchmark set by the Local Government Commission the ward area be expanded from the current Papakura boundaries.

Mayor Calum Penrose said the Council’s submission on boundaries responded to input from recent meetings with the Local Government Commission and sought to establish a workable ward that would respond to the needs of the community.

“We are heartened by the Commission’s suggestion that there should be a Papakura-centred ward given Papakura’s strong sense of community and history and the pride with which residents maintain their identity as members of the Papakura community.”

To meet population criteria set by the Local Government Commission and included in the recent laws passed to create the new Council, Papakura proposes expanding its borders to take in Clevedon to the north-east and also Randwick Park and Hyperion. The legislation setting up the new Auckland Council means that each Council ward needs a minimum population of 63,000.

“Our first preference would have been to simply keep our current boundaries, but in order to meet the Commission’s criteria we had to add other areas to the ward boundary.”

Mr Penrose said the Council had opted for a ward that recognised geographic and demographic communities that had much in common with the population of the current district. Members had considered an option that included part of Franklin District, but recognised that the Local Government Commission’s brief was to establish the northern part of Franklin as a ward in its own right which prevented this from happening.

Many Clevedon people already identified strongly with Papakura; while Randwick Park and Hyperion residents already use Papakura facilities, shopping, playing sport, using medical services and attending schools based within the district.

“While some may question our proposal to bring these areas into the new Papakura ward, we have to work within the scope of the laws that establish the new Council and that means creating a ward that meets the Government’s requirements. In this respect, the inclusion of these areas aligns well with our stated objective right through this process: to save Papakura.”

Mr Penrose said the Council’s submission represented the best option to retain Papakura as a part of the new Auckland region.

The submission was approved at last week’s District Development Committee meeting and will now be forwarded to the Local Government Commission.

“If we had not proposed a workable ward, we ran the risk of having the proposals of other districts adopted by the Local Government Commission which would not serve the interests of the Papakura community.”

Within the ward area proposed there would be two local boards: one for Papakura with nine board members and including Randwick Park and Hyperion and serving a population of 54,450; and one for Clevedon with four members serving a population of 11,700.

Opportunities for public input will come in November when the draft boundary proposals are released for comment. Mr Penrose says he is encouraging residents to make sure the Local Government Commission knows what the people of Papakura want for their district.

“The setting of boundaries for the wards is our opportunity to ensure we save Papakura as a community as the new Council is formed. Once more, we are calling for residents to have their say and help secure the future for Papakura.”

The Papakura submission on boundaries is available at the Council’s customer services reception at 35 Coles Crescent; at the Sir Edmund Hillary Library and also on the Council’s web site, www.papakura.govt.nz

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