Library talks held in secret session... p2
Former Silver Ferns rock local club competition... p3
Fun at the fair sets holiday mood early... pictures, p8-9
Flood consent fury at building in hazard zones
The rising number of building consents being granted in known flood zones – including the worst-hit parts of Milford – is an outrage, says Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Mel Powell.
“I’ve probably done 20 in the last six months,” she says of repeatedly flagging concerns about potential developments with
Auckland Council planners who decide if they can proceed. “It makes me want to cry.”
Some developers were pushing the limits as hard as they could. “Legally they are allowed to do it, but ethically...
“There should have been an absolute no, with no discussion, that houses not proceed in flood zones,” maintains Powell. This in-
cludes in Sunnynook, where two people lost their lives in the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Day floods.
“I never want to look parents in the eyes again and say, ‘I am sorry for the loss of your son’,” she says.
The latest application Powell has quesTo page 6
Anniversary idyll in Takapuna
Beachy keen... Businesswoman Diane Foreman and husband and television personality Paul Henry toast a special anniversary at her Takapuna property, The Emerald, for which she has big plans. Story, page 4.
Board holds library hub talks in secret
Designs and costings for a combined library and community facilities hub in Takapuna remain secret from the public, after plans were reported back to Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members.
Council staff advised the board to go into confidential session about remodelling the existing library on the Strand, using funds from selling other council community buildings.
The recommendation was accepted by the four board members present at the workshop last week.
Member George Wood, who was not there, said he thought this should only occur when members debated and decided on confidentiality, not just because staff had advised it.
“It’s not for the officers to make that decision,” he said. “But it seems to be the Auckland Council way of doing things.”
Board chair Mel Powell said afterwards that a public update would be made soon.
“We’re aspirational and we want the project done,” she added.
The board last year unanimously requested designs be prepared. These were expect-
ed in March, but this was pushed into April.
A number of options were put to the board. The Observer understands board members asked staff to return with more detail on some of these and on costs.
The designs will determine the viability of the project in terms of space and structure, but proceeding also depends on costs.
“We will be talking to the public about it,” said Powell.
Asked if any decisions had been made, she said: “We haven’t even got that far yet.”
She hoped that within the next few weeks, a statement could be made. “Then people will get a sense of where things are at.”
Board member Gavin Busch told the Observer: “We all want to see a solution that has a good outcome.”
Delay would only increase costs, he said, with members keen to make a decision in the current board’s term.
Money from the $3.2 million sale of the former Takapuna Library at 2 The Strand has already been put towards scoping work on the hub, with plans to fund its construction relying on the board selling the rundown and now empty Mary Thomas
Centre on Gibbons Rd and the Community Services Building next to the library.
It is not unusual for reports on values and sales to be held with the public and media excluded, but the library is a hot potato topic, having been been controversial through two board terms and with local body elections looming.
Some residents and former board members are sceptical the library’s functions will be adequately safeguarded in a combined facility. They have also voiced concerns about how this will be funded, which relies on council property arm Eke Panuku managing sales.
Staff reports have previously said more maintenance will be needed on the 1980s building. Creating a combined hub does not come under council renewals budgets, so to do this the board has to find funds.
Former chair Toni van Tonder told the Observer after she resigned in February that a sneak preview of design ideas she had seen before leaving for Australia indicated the library building could accommodate a hub, which she believed the community would embrace. Time will tell.
Milford pathway idea pleases, but not its high costs
A proposed footpath to run along the creekside of car parking by Milford marina would link from north of Inga Rd bridge to the pedestrian bridge to the beach reserve.
Options – ranging in price up to nearly $650,000 for a wooden boardwalk – are being scoped by Auckland Council, whose staff recently briefed Devonport-Takapuna Local Board members about the choices.
There was concern about costs, which exceed available budgets, but board members were otherwise enthusiastic about the project, which would run for 264m.
“We really need a walkway there,” said
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Peter Allen. It would be a community asset and complement upgrading at the marina
Deputy chair Terence Harpur said staff should return with cheaper asphalt options.
A sum of $110,000 is available in this year’s work programme, with a further $100,000 set aside next year. But the cheapest option staff presented was $465,8884 for a 1.2m-wide concrete footpath, with passing bays made necessary because the path did not meet the preferred width standard.
This option would follow the existing grass berm between the creek’s retaining wall and the 110 car parks accessed off Inga
SIMON WATTS
Authorised by Hon Simon Watts, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.
Rd. Wider and dearer options would shift car-parking nearer to the busy road edge, which members worried might be unsafe. All options would separate pedestrians and parking with pipe or timber barriers. Member Gavin Busch said a way of paying for the path might be to tap into money Auckland Transport (AT) says it has to encourage active modes of transport in the wider Takapuna area. Harpur said the path would then need to be made cycle-friendly. Board members are due for talks wth AT soon and will raise the matter.
• Inga Rd bridge replacement, page 5
Wednesday 30th April 7:00pm at Takapuna Senior Citizens Hall (next to library) 5 The Strand, Takapuna
Takapuna Residents Association welcomes all locals to its AGM with Guest speaker Mayor Wayne Brown Auckland Council
Formidable opposition... Spot the former Silver Ferns who turned out in black against a team of young Shore Rovers club netballers on grading day at Netball North Harbour this month. The Swish team lineup included: Adine Wilson (back row, left) and Bailey Mes (far right, beside Rovers 5 captain Shayla Wijohn); and (front row, from left)
Victoria Edwards, Anna Harrison, Paula Griffin and Kayla Johnson, who happily posed for an after-match photo.
Silver Ferns add buzz (and height) to netball competition
Club netballers were taken by surprise at the start of their season by the sight of former Silver Ferns turning up to play beside them on Netball North Harbour’s outdoor courts.
Adine Wilson, Anna Harrison, Kayla Johnson, Paula Griffin, Bailey Mes and Victoria Edwards (nee Edgar) are the former internationals in the new Swish Legends team, managed by another former Fern, Leonie Leaver. They contested two grading games and after two big wins have secured a spot in the Premier 1 competition.
“There was quite a buzz around their games,” said NNH chief executive Lynette Brady. Opponents had enjoyed the opportunity to rub shoulders with elite athletes they had looked up to. Other clubs were eager to see what they would bring to the top eight competition, which starts in the Barfoot & Thompson Stadium on 29 April at 7pm.
Facing the Ferns first on 5 April was a nervous Shore Rovers 5, a team that includes several high school players and whose oldest member is 26-year-old captain and goal attack Shayla Wijohn. “My mum came early to watch,” she told the Observer.
Wijohn was marked by Johnson and says the defender was awesome – friendly but competitive. “I’d say they did hold back, but they played respectfully.”
The elite players, now in their thirties and forties, were also ginger about the wet court, having played indoors for decades.
Rovers players gave their best and agreed it was a great experience, ending in photos.
“I had a goal to get a few [shots] in,” said Wijohn, who managed this, despite “a thrashing” in the last quarter.
The Ferns second game was against Carmel Marist 1 Blue, one of 82 teams in the
mainly adults club competition.
Leaver said the Swish club came about after some of the top players enjoyed a charity match set up by broadcaster Toni Street. Street, a former age-grade representative for Canterbury, is on the playing roster, along with Leaver’s daughter Brooke, who played for three ANZ Championship sides. Several other strong players round out the lineup. The club also has two development teams.
Swish gets its name from a training programme Leaver runs for school-aged players at NNH. At nearly 60, she says love of the game and camaraderie keeps her involved. But she had to remind Harrison to rein in coaching her opponents.
“If you’re up by quite a bit, let’s change positions, let’s offer advice... but the goals when they play, they will play to win.”
Shore talent on the way to London
Young North Shore talent Katie Brown (pictured with father Nick) has scored a rare coup – acceptance into the Guildford School of Acting’s musical theatre course. Each year the school in London auditions 9000 young actors from around the world, for just 22 places in its undergraduate programme.
“It’s pretty amazing,” says proud dad Nick Brown. “It’s harder to get into than Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard.”
Katie, who finished at Westlake Girls High School last year and has just turned 19, will start the course in September.
Her father, head of the drama department at Westlake Boys High School, has directed her in productions staged by the two schools. She also takes dance classes at Neverland Studios in Albany. Katie was last year named best leading actor in the musical Into the Woods, which also won the best overall production at the Auckland schools Showtime Awards.
To get into Guildford, she submitted tapes of her dancing, singing and acting set items. This process greatly whittled down applicants. Then she auditioned in person, being one of just a few out of 40 hopefuls chosen from her day to go on to final interviews up against other prospects.
Takapuna’s Emerald is the jewel
From page 1
For 30 years, businesswoman Diane Foreman has owned a prime slice of Takapuna real estate, adding to her holdings by buying further properties on the same block, just back from the beach.
She’s the first to admit development opportunities were always part of the attraction in 1995, when she bought a tired motel on The Promenade from receivers. “It cost a lot less than it’s worth today,” she says.
But cashing in isn’t her immediate plan for the Emerald Inn. Instead, she is rebranding the tranquil oasis as The Emerald – Takapuna, and promoting it as an ideal bolthole. An upgrade to its 40 units has included a penthouse suite and facilities allowing for small conferences and events.
Last week Foreman, with husband and television personality Paul Henry in tow, took the opportunity to introduce local businesses to what the property, under new managers, has to offer.
“I love the site,” she told the Observer. “I’m a Takapuna girl, I went to TGS and [later] lived in Clifton Rd.”
There were tough years in between, when she transitioned from a 15-year-old school-leaver with a father who didn’t see the point in education for girls, to developing her entrepreneurial side, which was recognised by her induction into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame last year.
Foreman says she was “really good” at typing and commercial practice at school. She put this to use in office work. Having married young, with two daughters and divorced, she had to work hard to get by. Later, she showed her mettle in stepping up after her older second husband, Bill Foreman, suffered a stroke. Proceeds from the sale of their plastics business, Trigon Holdings, which she arranged, went
into the Takapuna site. “It was the first thing I bought,” she says.
She engaged Stuart Harris, the designer responsible for the grounds of what was the Regent Hotel in Fiji, to create a lush tropical garden. The units overlook the greenery and a courtyard pool.
Her Emerald Group went on to develop other businesses, notably the internationally successful New Zealand Natural Icecream brand, which she sold to Chinese interests in 2011. These days she consults overseas, has property and agricultural holdings and a share in a recrutiment company, but says her passion is buying and renovating homes for resale. The multimillion-dollar Remuera property she shares with Henry is on the market and they also have a home on Waiheke Island and enjoy sailing. The broadcaster, last on television hosting the show The Traitors, also spends time in Los Angeles developing projects.
“Diane, who is more committed to work than I am, comes here much more frequently,” says Henry of The Emerald.
Foreman says the reason she moved out of Takapuna was because daily drop-offs got too much when her children were at school across the Harbour Bridge. But she says her local roots still run deep. She is a strong advocate of the area’s revitalising appeal, saying it offers something different for visitors wanting to be handy to the city, but with a relaxed urban vibe.
“It’s value for money”, not city prices, she quickly adds of her own accommodation. To encourage use by more local business clients she has launched a discount card.
Later in the year, The Emerald is looking at holding an open day so locals can see what the place is all about. Managers say some already use it as overflow accommodation for visiting family or during home renovations.
To page 5
in top businesswoman’s crown
Check in and you may never leave – guest
When Tiger Leysa (pictured) sold his $3 million home in Pierce Rd, Milford, he moved into the Emerald Inn until he sorted his next move. Then came Covid, and five years later he’s been there pretty much ever since.
“I call it Hotel California,” Paul Henry jokes of Leysa’s ongoing occupancy in his wife’s tucked-away accommodation. The longest-standing guest says: “I feel at home here, it’s so central to Takapuna and near the beach.”
That was a particular blessing in lockdown, when he lived in an Emerald villa around the corner, before shifting to a smaller studio inside the main property.
Leysa has dabbled in building in Warkworth and has business interests overseas, but convenience keeps this as his base. “I could have moved back to my sister,” he shrugs, gesturing to his surrounds and mentioning the bar up the road.
The New Zealand-raised Leysa has been a specialist lymphedema therapist for 15 years, helping people deal with the side-effects of lymph node removal from cancer surgery. He also travels to Singapore to do volunteer therapy.
His Tiger Harvest import-export business
Guests include a mix of returnees, tourists and special occasion bookings. Actor Temuera Morrison stayed recently, as did a Canadian hockey team.
Foreman has cannily picked up half a dozen nearby properties, several of which she rents out under the Emerald umbrella.
The future of seaward landholdings has attracted concern from some local residents,
includes selling rice from Vietnam into the Philippines. With part-Filipino and partMalaysian parentage, he wants to further develop opportunities in Asia.
Biosecurity rules are a challenge to importing here, he says, but he is looking at bringing in coffee beans.
In future, he’s likely to split his time even more between Asia and New Zealand, he says. So it’s not quite the Hotel California song’s scenario of never leaving – more a case of having somewhere handily convivial to return home to.
sparking a planning challenge from Takapuna man Franco Belgiorno-Nettis around permitted heights for future development.
Foreman acknowledges hers is a key site.
“If I ever redevelop this, I know exactly where my apartment will be,” she says, pointing to a corner of the block, which with added height would look out to sea across the northern sweep of Takapuna Beach.
Geotech tests disrupt Milford bridge traffic
Traffic disruptions around the two-lane Inga Rd bridge in Milford this week have been to allow for geotechnical tests ahead of its replacement.
To decide on final design and budgets, drilling of boreholes is needed to gather soil samples to assess ground conditions on its eastern side. These will help decide where pier supports and approaches are placed.
The drilling has required the temporary closing of the bridge’s southbound lane and the moving of bus stops to Omana Rd. Some property and boat ramp access is also affected. Work is due to finish by 21 April.
The nearly 100-year-old bridge is subject to vehicle, weight class and speed restrictions due to its deteriorating condition. It is expected to be replaced next year, when re-routing – including of buses – will be needed for up to six months.
Due to the high use of the link from the East Coast Bays to Milford – carrying 8000 vehicles a day – the new bridge will be co-funded by Auckland Transport and the New Zealand Transport Agency.
Questions over its desirable height above the flood-prone Wairau Creek have been raised by local representatives.
A central bridge pier is to be removed to aid flow. The bridge carries services on its underside.
Improved pedestrian options to its narrow western footpath are also wanted, although AT has said the replacement will primarily be “like for like”.
A survey to get community feedback about the bridge and desired traffic arrangements when it is being built is open now on the council’s Have Your Say website.
Flood Recovery
New building even as flood victims move out
From page 1
tioned on the board’s behalf is in the middle of the Milford flood plain in Nile Rd, where consent is being sought for four dwellings.
The pending application was lodged with an assessment that reads: “Adults are able to wade with a low-risk hazard, however children wading is considered a high-risk hazard. Notwithstanding this, adequate refuge is provided for future occupants within the dwelling, based on the recommended [finished floor levels] detailed below.”
“This statement is totally outrageous,” says Powell.
Another case she points to is in Alma Rd, where seven terrace houses are being built. Just over the back fence from the construction site, perplexed neighbours in their property accessed from Shakespeare Rd have a flood buyout in train and face huge disruption to family life.
“Small children are being displaced from school – it’s a disaster story,” says Powell. “It’s a slap in the face for these residents that they are having to move out and seven houses are going in.”
So far, 141 Milford homes have been assessed as Category 3, qualifying for the co-funded council and government buyout. Once buyouts are accepted and homes demolished, much of the land will be retired from housing under the Making Space for Water programme.
Powell says community members ask her why consenting is continuing around them, when council is preparing its business case for a $156.4 million Wairau catchment flood mitigation package.
Powell questions whether council’s flood recovery arm and its planning department are working in sync. The board as a whole had also fed back its frustrations to council
“It makes me want to cry”... Risks are being ignored, says Mel Powell
on behalf of the community, she said.
Powell has raised the need for curbs on building with North Shore MP Simon Watts and through council channels. “I’m looking for every platform to raise this,” she says.
Planning committee chair and North Shore ward councillor Richard Hills has previously told the board and the Observer that council’s hands are tied by government planning directives to allow more density as of right. This overrides the Auckland Unitary Plan, which is to be updated. (See story below.)
Powell says she will keep advocating against builds she considers should not proceed, in the hope that in some cases this will sway planning decision-makers. “I have no idea if people even read it.”
An added frustration is that board members are not updated on the status of consents they have commented on.
Council wants Govt to change rules
Auckland Council wants to be able to apply greater limits on development in hazard areas, says council policy and planning chair Richard Hills.
He says the council doesn’t yet have the legal ability to notify a plan change to downzone or alter rules in hazard areas. However, “I have a good working relationship with Minister [Chris] Bishop and based on our most recent discussions we feel positive we will have this ability soon.”
In the meantime, says Hills, “we have been preparing changes to the [Unitary Plan] which will strengthen councils’ ability to manage natural hazards. As part of this, it is proposed to introduce a risk-based assessment approach with clear policy directives on what the appropriate approach should be, dependent on the level of risk present.”
Designating some areas as “no-build” zones would mean development would be
given “prohibited” status. But Hills says “the bar to obtain this control is very high – council would need to demonstrate that there are no situations where a proposal could mitigate the risk.”
“Officers do not consider the broad use of prohibited activity status as being reasonable or defendable.”
One way to reduce risk is to buy properties, but Hills says the cost of more than $1 billion to date is not sustainable.
“The [Resource Management Act] does not give council the power to make immediate changes to existing rules or refuse applications – any changes must go through the formal plan change process including consultation,” he says.
The council is hoping for an Aucklandspecific change which would allow it to notify a hazards-related plan change while it waits for wider changes to planning rules.
“I don’t get the information back, because there’s no feedback loop,” she says. This has also been raised with council staff.
Powell is aware that several large Sunnynook development applications – including a three-storey boarding house proposed for Kapiti Pl and multiple units on Sunnynook Rd – have been paused, but she was not told the reasons for this. In both cases, Powell and the previous board chair, Toni van Tonder, submitted their concerns about the projects’ scale and location.
Powell says she spends hours every week combing through applications to flag properties in flood plains and subject to overland flows. Council’s online flood tracker tool shows these risks. Although not all such properties are unsafe, some she sees in Milford are, she believes, being located where flooding hit in 2023 and historically.
She knows some post-flood applications in Milford have been paused, presumably while planners seek more information from developers. But she says the subdivision and new-build applications keep rollling in, especially in recent months. She reckons this is partly because developers know the rules may be tightended.
After Observer questions, council said 11 consents had been issued in Milford hazard zones since January 2023. This total does not include pending or paused applications.
A spokesperson said the consents were where a parcel of land intersected a mapped hazard, but it did not necessarily mean a dwelling on the land was within the hazard zone. Applicants had to show that risks on such land could be avoided or managed. This might be by moving or raising the dwelling, or with engineering solutions.
Land subject to natural hazards, where building meets criteria to go ahead, would have this flagged on the property title.
Counting the losses
Latest Auckland Council figures requested by the Observer show:
• 141 homes in Milford have been assessed as Category 3, with owners of 126 of them so far opting into the buyout programme.
• Of opted-in homeowners, 103 have received a valuation and 81 of those a sale and purchase agreement.
• Sale and purchase agreements signed for 74 homes, with 51 buyouts settled.
• Seven homes so far removed in Milford, from Nile, Alma and Shakespeare Rds. Next to go includes a set of multi units on Nile Rd.
• Some Milford removals have been paused, to allow work to be done in clusters.
• Sunnynook and Totara Vale, further up the Wairau catchment, have had seven homes moved so far, six from Totaravale Dr and one from Sunnynook Rd.
• A third of the city’s 1200 or so homes to be removed are to be relocated.
Community voices help secure project go-ahead
Impassioned calls for urgent work on flood remediation convinced Auckland councillors to unanimously back the next steps towards work in the Wairau catchment.
The Milford Residents Association (MRA) was prominent in ensuring the message hit home that the suburb – the worst-hit across the city by the Auckland Annniversary Day floods in January 2023 – needed certainty. Delay wasn’t an option; it would be inhumane, was the message.
The Devonport-Takapuna and Kaipatiki local boards joined forces for a strong presentation, also playing up the human toll of the floods and their aftermath. Fixes needed to be locked in, their members told council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee this month.
The committee backed proceeding with a business case for stages one and two of the works, estimated to cost $156.4 million. This is needed to secure government co-funding.
Stage one includes the plan, which shocked Takapuna Golf Course users, to turn the council-owned AF Thomas Park on which it sits into a giant detention pond and recreational wetland, to slow flood waters reaching Milford.
Golf plan pushed as a cost saver
Digging deep... Takapuna Golf Course hopes its plan to mix golf and water retention on a lowered course, with added planting and a public perimeter path, will hold sway. The course pays a $300,000-a-year lease and says if it is evicted, council would be out of pocket for land maintenance costs as well.
native water-detention design built into the course that will now be considered.
This came after councillors quizzed the representatives of the MRA and boards, who said that provided its assessment did not slow progress on the overall project –expected to be under way in 2027 – then they had no problems with this.
Green Network project. This will follow property removals in the badly hit rear location off Shakespeare Rd.
It is mounting a case to stay with an alter-
Removing a bridge in Woodbridge Lane, Milford, is the other part of stage one of the Making Space for Water – Wairau Blue-
Stage two includes stream daylighting, overland flow paths and improving detention capacity around Nile Rd, Milford, and in Totara Vale. Local detention pond upgrades are also planned in Link Dr in Wairau Valley, and to Sunnynook Park and Becroft and Knightsbridge reserves in Forrest Hill.
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Family fun at Hauraki School’s electric event
Around 700 people attended Hauraki School’s third annual Electric Picnic in a sunny wind-down to the end of term one. More than $20,000 was raised at the event on 5 April. Organiser Adam Bennett said it was now an established annual occasion, “but we will continue to fine-tune things and enhance the family focus of it all”. Funds go to general school purposes after previous drives helped develop its pool.
Slide sisters... Enjoying the ride are friends Kaia Crossland (4) and Poppy Oswin (4), who live in Hauraki
Picnic time... Hauraki residents Yuri Hwang and David Skelton relax with their one-year-old son Ethan and his grandmother Geraldine Skelton
Going once... Auctioneer Sam Walmsley from Harcourts in action
This is fun!... First time on the bouncy castle for 20-month-old old Charlie McGirr and (right) Ava Yianakis carefully carries candyfloss bought for her and a friend
PICTURES: KATHRYN NOBBS
Sun smart... Leah Song and daughter Bella Tan (6) were ready for the rays with their hats and (below, from left) fellow Hauraki residents Andre Yu, Will Paterson, Toby Barber and event manager Adam Bennett say cheese
Ballooning around... George Hallam (3) and brother Theo (6) show off the work of balloon sculptor Graham Bennett, whose daughers and granddaughters all went to Hauraki School
Local lads... Relaxing are mates (from left) Han Yu, Henry Hawes, Henry Yu and Luke Sequeira, all aged 11
X3-4 lines
Asian-themed playground
continues despite shortfall
An Asian-inspired playground renewal in Knightsbridge Reserve in Forrest Hill is continuing despite a $40,000 shortfall.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board (DTLB) chair Mel Powell told the Observer Auckland Council staff had been asked to juggle funds in this year’s work programme to ensure it can proceed. After formal board approval, this would allow designs to be completed and work tendered this year, with building next year.
Envisaged as one of a handful of feature playgrounds in the DTLB area, the playground has been in the planning since 2023, with a budget of $309,600 to deliver it, spread over three years. It includes a small community gathering place, with features such as a badminton area that can double as a dancing or event space, and a table tennis table. A pergola will be built over picnic tables and planting will include both Asian and New Zealand native species, with garden pavers featuring Chinese characters.
Ageing play equipment will be upgraded, with a dragon-trail design for a natural play area adding to the usual swings, slides and carousel. The trail forms the shape of a dragon, with a slide as its tail and a winding shape of wooden poles, ropes and stepping logs leading to grass mounds and the dragon’s head, formed with timber stilts with decorative dragon features.
At a workshop this month, board members were told estimated costs had risen for the concept design the board favoured nearly a year ago, leaving a shortfall of $40,787. This required their direction on what to do next.
Powell said afterwards that the board was unanimous in wanting to proceed on the project and thought the shortfall could be made up by adjusting the work programme. Before deciding, it would take staff advice on whether work planned elsewhere might be trimmed or delayed.
The project was consulted on in late 2023 during a public workshop at Forrest Hill School and with the North Shore Chinese Community Network Trust.
An Auckland Have Your Say survey followed, indicating strong support.
Forrest Hill has a significant Asian population. When the board first supported the project, it said the special playground in the centrally located Knightsbridge Reserve was expected to become a drawcard North Shore destination as well as being well used by those living nearby.
Belmont’s new retirement village
Earthworks for the Summerset retirement village planned on the Hillary block off Eversleigh Rd in Belmont are likely to start around late 2027, the company says.
It would be five to seven years before the entire project on the nearly 5.8ha site was completed, a recent information evening on the development revealed.
The village would comprise between 300 to 350 units and feature one- to two-storey villas around the perimeter of the site. Some three-storey unit configurations might be offered further into the site. The central administration block facing the road would include communal facilities and a care unit. It was likely to rise to four to five storeys, as would an apartment block lower down the site. Warren & Mahoney would be the site architects.
Locals told the Observer at the meetand-greet that they appreciated the chance to find out more about the major development. Most were near neighbours who were particularly interested in timelines, building heights and site layout. Around half a dozen company representatives were on hand to answer questions and show site maps.
A company spokesman estimated around 200 people came along over several hours, with some leaving their details for updates, including a few prospective residents.
“We’ve intentionally gone for an early ap-
ANZAC DAY SERVICES
Takapuna Civic Parade and Service:
Assemble 8.30am at Sanders Ave, Takapuna. Service at Takapuna War Memorial Hall.
proach for our neighbours to be informed,” he said. Communications would continue as planning progressed for “a predominantly low-rise village, not an apartment-dominated village”.
The spokesman said while land-use consent applications had been lodged with Auckland Council, the scale of the development meant it would take many months until the project was shovel-ready.
Design work was just beginning and needed separate building consents. Adjustments in approach might occur as design progressed and would also be subject to market conditions.
A public notification process is under way to seek revocation of reserve classification on a pathway through the site linking from what is now Hillary Cres to the public pathway on its northern coastal side.
The spokesman said Summerset was open to considering an idea from the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board of a potential “land swap”. Board members have suggested that instead of the remaining accessway from Hillary Cres, Summerset could provide one from its land by Lowe St, as a more direct public route through to Northboro Reserve. Both Hillary accessways could then be absorbed into Summerset’s site.
Summerset expects most buyers to be Milford, Takapuna and Devonport residents.
Contact: Auckland Council Customer Service Centre 09 301 0101 or civicevents@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Glenfield Anzac Day Parade and Service: Assemble 11.10am at Ross Ave, Glenfield. Service at Glenfield War Memorial Hall, Hall Rd.
Contact: Auckland Council Customer Service Centre, 09 301 0101 or civicevents@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Birkenhead Civic Anzac Parade and Service: Assemble 9.30am at Mokoia Rd, between Huka and Colonial Rds.
Service at Birkenhead War Memorial Park, Mahara Ave.
Contact: Auckland Council Customer Service Centre, 09 301 0101 or civicevents@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Devonport Parade and Service: Assemble 10.30am at 1 Fleet St.
Service at cnr of Victoria St and King Edward Pde, Devonport.
Contact: Auckland Council Customer Service Centre 09 301 0101 or civicevents@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Updates are possible so for a full list of services, parking and road closure information please visit ourauckland.nz/anzacday or phone 09 301 0101
11.20am 11.30am
9.45am 10am
10.50am 11am
Master plan... This diagram shows Summerset’s planned layout for its retirement village in Belmont, fronting Eversleigh Rd (foreground) on the old Hillary Cres block, once occupied by Navy accommodation. Villa-style retirement units (mid blue) will ring the site and be one to two storeys high, with the central building and care unit (gold) rising to between four and five storeys, as will an apartment block (red). Other terrace-style accommodation (dark blue) will be up to three storeys.
Public pathways (red dotted lines) lead into Northboro Reserve (top right) from the remaining curve of Hillary Cres and from the Lowe St cul-de-sac. The paths also follow the coastal reserve, linking to the walking route to Bayswater (bottom left), near where a new wooden boardwalk (red solid line) will be built to the bottom of Eversleigh Rd. Summerset bought the land this year from Ngati Whatua Orakei’s property arm, which continues to develop the adjoining Oneoneroa subdivision.
Holiday fun
Several hundred children and their families took part in an early Easter trail, following clues to claim an egg on the first day of the school holidays. The activity was part of the Takapuna Easter Carnival last Saturday, which featured entertainment and a town square market.
Shop swap
Takapuna’s loss is Milford’s gain, with a move between malls by big Australian brand Country Road. It is among the lineup of stores in the newly renovated wing of the Milford Shopping Centre, in space vacated by The Warehouse.
Concert is late risers’ chance to share the Anzac spirit
For those who don’t rise early, North Shore Brass is putting on a late afternoon Anzac Day concert this year.
Its top players will as usual lead old soldiers down Lake Rd to the 9am Takapuna service at The Strand memorial, but at 4pm it will be the turn of its three academy bands to play. They will perform an All for Peace concert at Takapuna Normal Intermediate School (TNIS).
This is a chance to see the band’s developing musicians. Among them is 10-year-old Celine Wu from Sunnynook Primary School,
who was a New Zealand Brass under-15 champion for 2023 and 2024.
Celine, who has previously played The Last Post at the Devonport parade, will do so this year at Browns Bay.
The TNIS concert feature solos, marches and light items as well as reflective and motivating music to remember the Anzacs and other service personnel who have served in war and peace-keeping missions. Entry is by donation (cash or Eftpos) at the door.
ANZAC DAY COMMEMORATING
Friday April 25 | Navy Museum
Takapuna shows promise despite humbling by Shore
Takapuna Premiers suffered one of its worst-ever defeats to arch-rivals North Shore last Saturday, going down 48-17 at Onewa Domain.
But the side displayed enough grit and spirit to show that it could still be a title contender in 2025, in what is only the third round of the season.
Shore – with captain Donald Coleman celebrating his 100th game – was not totally dominant, but it won the clashes around the margins. Passes stuck, decisions by first five Cam Howell were the right ones and it nailed all its scoring chances.
Takapuna looked like a team of promise, rebuilding but yet to find its full rhythm. The loss of key players to Super Rugby shows.
Shore jumped to a 22-3 lead and a rout looked likely, with Takapuna’s cause not helped by two first-half yellow cards.
However, it battled back to 29-17 down mid-way through the second half, with flanker Gage Jackson and winger Tika Lelegna featuring in strong carries.
But the arrival of Shore’s experienced bench snuffed out any comeback.
In a spirited reserves match, Takapuna beat North Shore 36-28, with the game in the balance right until the end.
Oval ball players to keep an eye on
Takapuna rugby club is well known as an incubator for star players – no better shown lately than in Moses Leo and James Cameron. The two former Westlake students are both big movers this season.
Leo, from the class of 2016, has been a regular in the All Blacks Sevens side in recent years, winning a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, silver at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town in 2022 and going to the Paris Olympics last year.
Along the way he squeezed in 14 appearances for North Habour and took the field
for Takapuna when he could.
Then came a switch to league, with Leo launching his NRL career in style with the Melbourne Storm, playing last weekend in its demolition of the Warriors.
Cameron (pictured), who played junior rugby at Takapuna, has just made the New Zealand under-20 team. The 2023 Westlake sportsman of the year, who captained the first XV to the Blues area title and into the national top four competition, is now in Christchurch at the Crusaders franchise.
He was vice-captain for the last New Zealand Schools team tour of Australia.
On attack…Tika Lelegna was one of Takapuna’s best backs, while (below) Finau Paea’s runaway try in the second half was not enough to inspire a comeback
Super fans... North Shore homeboy Fine Inisi always has plenty of local suport when he turns out for Moana Pasifika
Moana Pasifika centre Fine Inisi back in the game Sport
Explosive Moana Pasifika back Fine Inisi’s comeback from injury couldn’t have been timed better – scoring the decisive end-ofthe-match try in the side’s groundbreaking Super Rugby win over the Waratahs.
The match was in the balance at 33-28 to Moana Pasifika when Inisi, who had come on at halftime, pounced on a kick through from Jackson Garden-Bachop and scored in the corner. Inisi (26) had a bit of work to do but put the try down to “a perfect bounce”.
The 45-28 win over the Waratahs was the first time Moana had won two games in a row in the competition.
It was Inisi’s first appearance of the year for Moana Pasifika after a thigh injury.
“It was great to get back on the field again,” said Inisi, who is relishing the intensity of the 2025 Moana Pasifika set-up, which has been given an injection of energy
with the addition of All Black Ardie Savea into the side he captains.
“The intensity of the trainings has lifted a lot and that’s definitely due to Ardie and the coaches lifting all the boys.
“Ardie has been great – he’s so humble and open with all the young guys – it’s pretty cool to have him to learn off.”
Inisi, who has come through the Takapuna Rugby Club and Westlake Boys, is also loving playing at Moana’s new home at North Harbour Stadium.
“It reminds me of playing [schools] finals there for Westlake [and later club finals for Takapuna]. The stadium is packed... it’s sort of my own backyard.”
Most of the Inisi family live in Northcote and 20 or 30 regularly make the trip to the stadium to watch Moana Pasifika in what is becoming a breakthrough year.
One member, though, is missing – his mother Moli Inisi, who died in 2023 from an aggressive cancer. “She was me and my brother’s [Lotu, who is also in the Moana Pasifika team] greatest supporter.
“I always have a few thoughts for her every time I play... there’s a missing piece up in the stands.”
Inisi, a Tongan international who has scored around 10 tries for Moana Pasifika, is still a strong Takapuna supporter. Although his games for his club side have been limited after he became a Super Rugby player in 2022, he had hoped to catch the first half of the local derby against Shore last weekend.
It wasn’t a great week for the club, or for Moana Pasifika, who lost to the Blues 36-17, dropping to 10th on the table. But they – and their fans – will be back to play the Brumbies in Pukehoke this Saturday.
Farewell Doc – North Harbour leads tributes to Mayhew
North Harbour Rugby Union has led tributes to its long-standing medic, Richard John “Doc” Mayhew, who died this month. He was 70.
Mayhew began working with the union from its founding in 1985. He also served as doctor to the All Blacks, from 1988 to 2004, at four World Cups and for more than 200 games, followed by a code switch to the Warriors from 2005 until 2019. Its players wore black armbands in tribute to Mayhew in their NRL game on Sunday.
Mayhew’s contribution to sports medicine was recognised in 2016 when he was appointed an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit. The year before, Harbour had made the popular figure a life member.
“Dr. Mayhew’s legacy will forever be woven into the fabric of North Harbour Rugby and New Zealand’s rugby history,” the union said last week. “His passion, dedication, and unwavering support have left an enduring impact that will be remembered by all who
had the privilege to know him”.
Before sports medicine duties became his full-time passion, Mayhew practised as a GP in Birkenhead. He played nearly 200 games for the Northcote club and was also a life member there.
His death on 9 April followed heart complications. He leaves behind wife Sue and four children. His three sons, who attended Rosmini College, played rugby professionally – Nick at the Blues and Brumbies. Mayhew senior had a stint doctoring at the Blues.
Leading rugby and league players lauded his care, which included helping Jonah Lomu manage to play when his kidney issues were not yet known. He was a pallbearer at Lomu’s funeral in 2015.
Mayhew’s own farewell includes a special celebration of his life at the Rosmini auditorium on Tuesday 22 April at 2pm. Livestreaming is available for those unable to attend.
Westlake Girls sailors aiming for three in a row Sport
Westlake Girls sailor Jess Handley has won the national secondary schools teams racing champs before, but this year she captains a young squad hoping to lift the title for the third time in a row.
If she feels any pressure, she’s taking it all in her stride.
“It’s really cool to see the younger girls become great sailors,” she told the Observer last week.
One of the younger girls is her sister Charlotte, who has already represented New Zealand at the European championships last year in the Optimist class.
Jess (16) also raced for New Zealand last year at the Youth Worlds champs at Lake Garda, Italy, in the 420 class, finishing in the top 15.
Both sisters represented New Zealand as part of the Westlake Girls team which won the inter-dominion, trans-Tasman regatta in 2024.
Jess is looking forward to continuing leading Westlake Girls yachting in 2026, then hopes to move on to qualifying for Olympic-class teams.
Westlake Girls have had an ideal preparation for the national secondary schools champs, winning the Auckland Secondary Schools Teams Racing Championship for the fourth year in a row.
The team is training out of the Milford
Cruising Club and leaves for New Plymouth on Easter Monday, for the national champs regatta which includes more than 20 races from 21-27 April.
The Westlake team for the title bid differs
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Auckland title winners… (from left) Gretel Satterthwaite, Charlotte Handley, Bella Jenkins, Jess Handley (captain), Ashleigh Robertson, Danielle Robertson and Kiera Dimock
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Thousands turn out for Shore to Shore Briefs
Team effort... Ida Joyce Broome (left) and Erin Broome run along Takapuna Beach during the Shore to Shore, which they finished in 34.08 minutes. More than 5300 people took part in the annual 5.9km run/walk from Takapuna Grammar to Milford Beach Reserve, which was held on Sunday 6 April. In the race section, 552 competitors completed the course, with Sascha Letica winning overall in a time of 20.01. The Bayswater athlete and former Takapuna Grammar School student will take up a US college sport scholarship mid-year, after achieving national age-group medal success. Wen Yao Zheng was first male home in a time of 22.22. Harbour Sport said its annual event raised $24,000 for sports gear for North Shore schools.
Athletes impress
Connor Brady and Tereise Hess of Takapuna Athletics Club continued their fine form in national competitions by medalling at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships. Brady won gold in the under-17 decathlon in Perth this month, with a number of personal bests and Hess claimed bronze in the U17 heptathlon. Both attend Takapuna Grammar School, as does fellow club member and middle-distance runner Asha Edwards, who is in the United States on an Athletics New Zealand development squad tour.
Tennis title loss
Milford lost 5-2 to Northcote in the final of the Chelsea Cup Tennis Northern championship last Friday at Albany. Julia Hillebrand was the only Milford singles winner, beating Carlota Casasampere 6-1, 6-2. Then Hillebrand combined with Katie Oliver to beat Northcote’s Elys Ventura and Laura Isbey for Milford’s other win in the tie.
Pole position for 1st XI
Westlake Boys’ 1st XI wrappped up last term top-placed in the Auckland secondary schools premier cricket competition, with five games still to play in term four to decide the winner of the title.
Letter
Westlake double
Congratulations to Westlake Boys High School that they appear in the April 4th edition of the Rangitoto Observer both for sport and the arts.
Roger Hall
From trash to treasure
Upcycle artist Lisa Watkins’ sculpture Metalmorphosis, winner of the Lake House Arts Centre’s first sustainability and community exhibition competition, was two years in the making.
The sculpture is made from a recycled mannequin, bells, jewellery and more than 1000 keys.
Watkins, who has been working full-time as an upcycle artist for the last two years, said the keys were collected, then stuck onto the mannequin and painted with resin. She has around 15 works in progress in her studio – adding to them as donated items come along.
“Anything can be turned into art – that’s what I’m trying to get across to the community,” Watkins said. She’ll use her $1000 competition prize money to buy more art materials and “pay a few bills”.
The competition attracted 28 entries. The exhibition runner-up was Shelly Gray with Whimsy Bloom Chair and highly commended were Bobbie Gray (Blooming Vestiges) and Fiona Newton (Ebbs and Flows).
The Localised Awards and Exhibition is the first of its kind at the Lake House and marks a growing focus on sustainability. Staged in partnership with the Localised Zero Waste Hub, all entries had to be made from at least 75 per cent recycled or upcycled materials.
• The Localised Awards and Exhibition at the Lake House on Fred Thomas Dr, Takapuna, runs until 24 April, 9 am-3pm.
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Melissa Powell sworn in as new chair of Devonport-Takapuna Local Board
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board now has a new chair, with Melissa Powell stepping into the role after being sworn in at the board’s business meeting on 18 March.
Powell takes up the role following the resignation of Toni van Tonder in February. Terence Harpur has now returned to his role as deputy chair after standing in as acting chair following van Tonder’s departure.
During the meeting, the board also decided to leave the remaining seat created by van Tonder’s departure vacant until the next election in October.
A member of the board since
she was voted in during the 2022 election, Powell is a passionate advocate for developing communities, youth and underrepresented voices, building on years of experience in youth development in the not-for-profit sector.
“It’s a privilege to continue to serve our community at this time,” Powell says.
“My area of focus for the next six months is to ensure the board makes good decisions around the table in a respectful manner for all people that come into our board room, and I will continue to advocate for flood victims and the environmental space. We live in paradise, and I plan to
CONTACT US: aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/devonporttakapuna FOLLOW US: Facebook.com/devonporttakapuna
keep it that way.”
Deputy Chair Terence Harpur is excited to see Powell take the reins of the board.
“Melissa has shown incredible leadership over the last two years in the aftermath of the 2023 floods, advocating strongly for communities, helping people directly and enabling clearer communication for everyone. She has a strong collaborative style and has shown she is able to connect effectively with all members of our community. Melissa is smart, articulate, strategic and detail focused and will make a fantastic chair, and I look forward to supporting her in the role,” Harpur says.
Westlake schools go all-out with two stage shows
Westlake schools are combining their acting, singing, dancing and musical talents to again stage two shows they are keen to share with the wider community. The ABBA musical Mamma Mia! and a challenging play, Three Birds Alighting on a Field, are this year’s choices.
Expect full-scale productions, from the team that for the last two years has won the Showtime Outstanding Production Award, judged across the city’s secondary schools.
“We are quite innovative in the way we do things,” says the head of drama at Westlake Boys High School, Nick Brown. Staging includes making the orchestra visible and adding film and videography to counterpoint live drama.
With counterparts from Westlake Girls High School, he and a backstage crew of students and parents pull together the annual
productions, which involve several hundred people. Brown is excited by how things are coming together before the seasons begin at the end of the month.
Brown directed the schools’ 2023 award-winning Into the Woods musical and last year’s Three Musketeers play. He helms both this year’s shows, which alternate over 12 days, from 28 April to 10 May.
“We don’t make theatre for awards, we make it to be exciting and uplifting,” he says.
Students auditioned for the shows last year and have been rehearsing hard since, including with a drama camp last month and at weekends. A preview will be held for intermediate schools and retirement villages.
“Our school serves our community,” is how Brown sees it, saying it is great for the public, not just family and friends, to be able to watch the enthusiastic next generation put
on polished performances.
Mamma Mia! has a cast of 90, plus a band and crew of 10 each, supported by 25 staff and parents. A special singalong session will be held on Friday 9 May. Corey Snape and Kiera Miller star in the roles played by Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep in the movie, with the younger lovers portrayed by Nathan Davies and Hollie Blackwell.
The Three Birds play by Timberlake Wertenbaker is led by Julia Wilkins, with a 40-strong cast. It is a comic exploration of social status in the art world, reworked for its young cast to be relevant in the Instagram age.
“With theatre we go into a darkened room and share an experience with people we don’t know because it enhances our sense of community,” says Brown.
• Bookings on iticket.co.nz
Soapbox star... Corey Snape, the male lead Sam in Mamma Mia!, in full voice at a rehearsal
PICTURE: @LK CREATIVE
Tempest Oil on Canvas
Guiding River Oil on Canvas
Mountain River Oil on Canvas
From NZ to Scotland – painter’s landscapes reveal
A young Milford painter, now based in Edinburgh, is showing her classical-style landscapes which include contrasting New Zealand and Scottish scenes.
Twenty-five-year-old Holly Haines is exhibiting this month at Art by the Sea gallery in Takapuna. She held her first solo show there in late 2023 and in the interim has also exhibited in the Scottish capital.
“There are definitely similarities between Scottish and New Zealand landscapes, however I feel that each still has unique individual qualities,” she tells the Observer. “I am most inspired by the sky when creating a painting – this is often what draws me to a particular scene.”
Her work, primarily in oils, explores light and mood and the differences between the two countries is also reflected in her chosen colour palettes.
“What strikes me most about New Zealand is its particularly lush greenery and distinctive skies with a crisp bright light. In contrast, Scotland favours moodier skies and softer lighting. Earthier, warmer tones appear more regularly in the landscape,” she says.
The former Westlake Girls High School student moved to Edinburgh in 2022 for two years of study at the Edinburgh Atelier, graduating in mid-2024. She was drawn to its style of teaching, focusing on the painting skills and traditions of the old masters.
“Combined with my desire to see more of the world and my family background in the UK, it felt like the right decision – and I began working toward making the move. It’s been such a privilege to meet people from all over and to explore a country with its own distinctive natural beauty.”
She has a studio in Edinburgh and has made trips to the Highlands and isles.
But Haines’ work is also anchored here, with a past trip to the South Island having
Inspired by nature ... Holly Haines at work in her Edinburgh studio
different worlds
Contrasting countries... Scottish painting Guiding River and (below) a South Island scene, Mountain River
inspired some of her work. She tells the Observer she also did some painting during her one visit home. “I am so appreciative of what a beautiful country New Zealand is and I refer back to this often when I am painting.”
For now though, her focus is on exploring the Scottish coast and its brooding interiors.
Haines says her creative process varies slightly between each piece. “I typically work from a mix of photo references, studies, and memory. I don’t often copy an image exactly – it’s more of a guide to help recall the feeling and details of a place.”
She has no particular favourite among the works she is showing at Art by the Sea, as each painting has a different energy and emotional tone. But she points to Mountain River and Guiding River as two works that show the differences she perceives between her two homelands. The first is inspired by the South Island and features clear, bright tones and abundant greenery. Guiding River references Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands, with a focus on the moodiness of the sky and rustier, earthier tones. “The painting’s heavier atmospheric quality contrasts with the freshness and clarity of the New Zealand light,” she says.
• Holly Haines: Landscapes – A World Apart, at Art by the Sea gallery until 29 April.
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