First sod turned on Tamaki regeneration

Auckland Mayor Len Brown and Housing Minister Nick Smith have this morning joined the local community in the Tamaki area of Auckland to take the first physical step in the regeneration of the area in which 16,000 people live.

The regeneration is a 20-year programme being managed by the Tamaki Redevelopment Company, an Auckland Council and New Zealand government partnership established in 2012.

The Mayor and the Minister spent the morning in the first part of Tamaki to be part of the process, the Fenchurch neighbourhood.

There they turned the first sod on an Early Childhood Education (ECE) centre for 60 children being built at Glenbrae Primary School before visiting a community hub being developed on a scout hall site. Following that was a visit to the site of eleven new homes being built as the first part of a 32-home Housing New Zealand social housing development.

The housing development forms part of the Northern Tamaki Special Housing Area created as part of the second tranche of the Auckland Housing Accord.

Len Brown says:

“What’s really important is that the regeneration of Tamaki is not just about quality, affordable homes; it is about education, jobs and community.

“We recognise that participation in Early Childhood Education in this part of Auckland is too low, and that’s why it is appropriate that the ECE centre is the first project to be launched today.”

“The regeneration is also about ensuring the kids that attend this centre can take advantage of all the opportunities that their renewed neighbourhood will provide. It is about leveraging the redevelopment to provide jobs. It is about warmer, dryer homes. And it is about ensuring the families of Fenchurch can meaningfully contribute to their community.

“Everything we do in Auckland is done with the understanding that our children are our future, and that’s why children and young people are the number one priority in the Auckland Plan.”

Len Brown says Tamaki has a special place in the future of Auckland.

“This is a priority area for future growth in the Auckland Plan – because of its natural environment, its young population and transport infrastructure.

“The future prosperity of this part of Auckland will have a positive flow-on for the future prosperity of the rest of Auckland.”

Len Brown also took the opportunity to acknowledge the work of the local community over many years to get to today’s milestone.

Ends

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