MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION ON 21 FEBRUARY 2011

SAVE OUR ST HELIERS INCORPORATED SOCIETY (formerly Save Turua Street)

SOS vows to continue fight for St Heliers

Bricks and broken letterboxes were a stark reminder of what St Heliers has lost at a meeting yesterday of SOS (Save Our St Heliers) where over 100 members and residents vowed to keep fighting to protect the seaside village character of St Heliers.

The crowd applauded loudly as speakers outlined the actions the society needs to take to change planning processes so that heritage is valued in Auckland.

'The Turua Street 'debacle' has rattled some cages' said Councillor Cameron Brewer and he assured the meeting that St Heliers now carries an 'orange alert' as far as the Council is concerned.

Although Mayor Len Brown did not attend he sent two senior officers to represent him and three members of the Orakei Local Board were also in attendance.

'This shows the council are finally taking this issue seriously' said Sally Hughes Chairperson of SOS after the meeting. 'The people of Auckland are sick of secret deals between Council and developers and we are going to hold the Mayor to his promise that there will be no more Turua Street type demolitions' she said.

ENDS

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