Phase one - Howick plan update

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who shared ideas, insights and gave feedback on what the Howick Local Board should include in their next three-year plan. It has been great to hear from you and see your creative ideas and passion for your communities and neighbourhoods.

Who we heard from

We held five events in partnership with community organisations including the Korean Positive Ageing Charitable Trust, the Chinese New Settlers Services Trust, and Batiya Samaj where we heard from a cross section of the community from young people to seniors.

We heard many of your views face to face at the Howick Village Hop, we met with the Howick Youth Council, surveyed Howick Local Board residents through the Auckland People’s Panel as well as gathering your ideas here on our online ideas hub.

In total we received over 1000 contributions from around 700 people.

What you said

These are some of the key themes we heard from all the feedback received:

• play is a priority - people want to see improvements including play equipment for all ages, shade, and facilities for scooters, skateboards and bikes. Great playgrounds for East Auckland that families can spend a few hours at
• you love your beaches and want to see actions to restore them to their former glory and improvements to make them more user friendly for recreational activities
• there are lot of dog owners in this area who want places to safely exercise their four-legged friends
• people in Flat Bush want the new community centre and library, and aquatic and recreation centre to be built as soon as possible so you have places to meet and do things together and have a sense of safety and social togetherness
• we have diverse communities who like community events that allow all the various cultures to come together and share their cultures
• having such a diverse community means council needs to ensure it communicates in languages that are accessible
• the community is capable and wants be involved in actions to protect the environment, deal with pests and protect assets
• young people are interested in actions to protect the environment, address climate change as well as improvements to public transport
• you are concerned about stormwater infrastructure and infill housing
• you would like to see further development of parks like Lloyd Elsmore Park and Barry Curtis Park
• you support pedestrian and cycling initiatives that link people with schools, employment hubs and public transport.

What happens next?

All 21 of Auckland’s Local Boards are developing their new 2020 Local Board Plans based on what we heard and other inputs such as the Auckland Plan 2050, Long Term Plan, and Annual Budget.

We have yet to fully determine the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our communities and it may mean some of our plans and aspirations may need to change as a result. Our response will be delivered via the annual budgeting process but the decisions we make will focus on ensuring benefits for our community.

The next phase of this consultation will be in July when we come back to you with an opportunity to have your say on the draft Howick Local Board Plan. We will be in touch then.