Media Release
City Vision -Labour Councillors
For Immediate Release
9 September 2010

Monte Cecilia Plan Changes Rammed Through

It is an outrage that two costly District Plan changes which will seal the fate of Monte Cecilia School were rammed through a Council Committee today only 30 days before the election, say Auckland City Councillors Glenda Fryer and Cathy Casey.

Public plan change 294 will rezone all non-school land at Monte Cecilia Park and Private plan change 274 will rezone the St John Vianney site to accommodate the new school.

Cr Fryer said "The public plan change to rezone land at Monte Cecilia Park should not have gone ahead until the private plan change by the Catholic Diocese to rezone boggy Church land at St John Vianney in Hillsborough has been finalised.

"It is premature and a waste of public money to proceed with a public plan change that will constrain the new Auckland Council's choices. This council is determined to seal Monte Cecilia School's fate before the election in less than a month's time.

Cr Casey said "These two plan changes are being notified in the face of total opposition from the Monte Cecilia school community in Hillsborough. What is worse is that the ratepayers of Auckland are paying for both. The "compensation" to the Catholic Diocese for moving the school is that ratepayers pay for the new school and all the planning and design costs associated with it.

"We already know that the St John Vianney site has many deficiencies and will face many objectors. Ramming through the rezoning of Monte Cecilia Park is effectively closing off the option to reposition some of the school buildings within Monte Cecilia Park.

Councillors Casey and Fryer have both pledged that if they are successful in their election to the Auckland Council they will stop the eviction of Monte Cecelia School and allow the school to be repositioned out of public sightlines to the south of its present location on the Monte Cecilia park land.

ENDS

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