Takapuna Market Goers Queue to Support Holiday Park

When the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board asked their local community for its opinion on the future use of the Public Reserve at the Northern end of Takapuna Beach, surely they had no idea of the depth of feeling for the historic Takapuna Beach Holiday Park. The local community wants it to stay and lined up in the rain at the Takapuna Markets yesterday to make sure they had their say.

This follows a surprise move last week by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board when it announced an immediate consultation process that will either save the Holiday Park and see it developed into a world-class facility; or see this Public Reserve land become home to private buildings owned by Yachting NZ.

The consultation process offers four land use options to choose from and is open to anyone. This can be completed in a few minutes online atwww.shapeauckland.co.nz (North Takapuna Beach Reserve) or hard copies can be obtained from the Takapuna Library or the Council. Voters can select a 1stChoice and a 2nd Choice, however Holiday Park supporters are expected to vote for one option only: Retain Takapuna Holiday Park with Upgrades.

A vote for the Holiday Park will ensure that the local economy continues to benefit from the annual rental paid by the holiday park ($160,000), together with over 20,000 visitors to the area who spend around $7 million spend in the local community. The Save Takapuna Beach Holiday Park Supporters Group believes that the Yachting NZ plan is negative development in that it significantly increases the footprint of permanent building structures on limited reserve space and is likely to see the entire reserve over-run with yachts, with little space left for the general public to enjoy.
The Save Takapuna Beach Holiday Park Supporters Group wants to see the Holiday Park given a long term lease so that the leaseholders can make a substantial investment to develop it into an international standard facility. They believe that both sides can ‘win’ if Yachting NZ goes back to their original plan of locating their development alongside the Takapuna Boating Club.

ENDS

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