22 August 2018

22 August 2018

Public consultation and a representative survey have both shown support for a new town square and revitalisation on the central Takapuna car park at 40 Anzac Street.

In an independent survey conducted by Colmar Brunton, 69% of people preferred one of the two development proposals. In the Auckland Council-run consultation, 55% of people who responded were in support.

Earlier engagement with the community identified the two preferred sites for the town square. A site between Hurstmere and Lake roads came out as the preferred location for this new public space in both the consultation (46% of responses) and the independent survey (40%).

Council’s Planning Committee and the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board were briefed on the results of the consultation at a workshop this morning.

North Shore Ward Councillor and Planning Committee Chair Chris Darby says: “The community has given us a clear steer that they want to see their village improved from a car park to a safe and well-designed public space for people to love, with places to eat, shop, live, work and spend time.

Public consultation and a representative survey have both shown support for a new town square and revitalisation on the central Takapuna car park at 40 Anzac Street.

In an independent survey conducted by Colmar Brunton, 69% of people preferred one of the two development proposals. In the Auckland Council-run consultation, 55% of people who responded were in support.

Earlier engagement with the community identified the two preferred sites for the town square. A site between Hurstmere and Lake roads came out as the preferred location for this new public space in both the consultation (46% of responses) and the independent survey (40%).

Council’s Planning Committee and the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board were briefed on the results of the consultation at a workshop this morning.

North Shore Ward Councillor and Planning Committee Chair Chris Darby says: “The community has given us a clear steer that they want to see their village improved from a car park to a safe and well-designed public space for people to love, with places to eat, shop, live, work and spend time.

“We can be confident in continuing with our plans to rejuvenate and open up public space in the core of Takapuna, off the back of the fantastic response of more than 5300 submissions.”

Panuku Development Auckland is leading the urban redevelopment of Takapuna.

Panuku Director of Development Allan Young says that both the consultation and the survey were independently run to understand the desires of the community.

“With the independent survey backing up the result of the consultation, and both results being in favour of improvements to this space, we look forward to making sure we achieve the high-quality outcome that Takapuna is clearly looking for.”

40 Anzac Street is currently a 250-space car park located in the centre of Takapuna between Anzac Street and Lake Road, adjacent to Potters Park. The site has the potential to provide a mix of residential, commercial and public space with activated laneways linking it to Hurstmere Road. Panuku proposed that 40 Anzac Street is developed in to a vibrant hub that includes a new town square, shops, businesses and homes that will unify the heart of Takapuna.

The consultation received 5385 responses and was conducted from 23 July to 10 August 2018. Fifty-three per cent of respondents that disclosed their location were from the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area. An additional 28% were from the rest of the North Shore. The remainder of the responses were from the rest of Auckland (19%), or outside of Auckland/did not supply a location (4%).

The Colmar Brunton survey includes 563 respondents, is representative by age, gender and location and has a margin of error of 4.4%.

Design work on the town square will now continue to be shaped up in collaboration with the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. Panuku will seek expressions of interest from development partners to work with on delivering the vision for the project.

Two hundred metres down the road at 14 Huron Street a new, multi-level car parking building will be constructed to replace the car parks at 40 Anzac Street. The modern building will be five storeys and will include 420 car parks as well as electric car and bike charging stations, bike storage, motorbike parking, accessibility parking and “end of trip” facilities including changing rooms. Construction will begin in October.

Quick facts – representative survey:

- 69% of people prefer one of the proposed options that would deliver a new town square over the status quo.

- 40% prefer a town square located between Hurstmere and Lake roads. 29% prefer a town square adjacent to Potters Park.

- 29% prefer no development.

- The survey included 563 responses and is representative by age, gender and location.

Quick facts – community consultation:

- 55% of people support a town square at one of the two proposed locations.

- 38% support a town square located between Hurstmere and Lake roads. 8% supported a town square adjacent to Potters Park and 8% supported both options.

- 41% support no development.

- The consultation received 5385 responses.

- 53% of the respondents that disclosed their location were from the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area and an additional 28% were from the rest of the North Shore. 15% were from the remainder of Auckland. Only 206 respondents either live outside of Auckland or did not disclose their local board area.

BACKGROUND

Plans for Takapuna

The overarching plan to revitalise Takapuna was approved by the Auckland Development Committee in March 2016. The plan aims to create a more connected, attractive and vibrant town centre and seeks to repurpose land that is currently
under-utilised to bring more businesses and homes to the area. 40 Anzac Street was identified as a key site in this plan.

To inform the overall planning and development for Takapuna, Auckland Transport analysed the current and future need for public parking in the centre. The analysis drew on Auckland Transport’s Parking Strategy (publicly consulted on and adopted in 2015), which states that the management of off-street parking will increasingly prioritise
short-stay parking over long-stay commuter parking.

The development on 40 Anzac Street requires the immediate replacement of approximately 400 carparks. Taking into consideration a moderate mode shift, Auckland Transport forecasts that Takapuna will require an increase from 1500 to 2000 carparks by 2046.

There is an additional site approximately 200m away on the corner of Huron, Northcroft and Auburn streets, called the Gasometer site. Panuku is building a multi-storey car park there to accommodate for Takapuna’s current and future carparking needs.

In collaboration with the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, a significant level of stakeholder engagement was undertaken during 2016 and early 2017. This included engagement with the Greater Takapuna Reference Group and eight other key stakeholder groups.

Consultation on the change of use for the 40 Anzac Street car park was undertaken in August and September 2017. A hearings panel was appointed to independently analyse the submissions received and to hear from any submitters that wished to speak.

A large number of submitters who opposed had asked for different activities and uses for the site. As a result, conditions were placed on the approval to “change the use” of the site which included creating a town square on 40 Anzac Street and constructing the Gasometer car park before the Anzac Street car park was closed.

On 6 March 2018 a “change of use” was granted by Auckland Council’s Planning Committee for 40 Anzac Street, subject to the conditions set by the hearings panel. From April through to June, Panuku undertook engagement to understand the community’s desires around the shape, size and location of a town square. More than 1600 people participated in the engagement process.

Following this engagement, consultation was undertaken from 23 July to 10 August 2018 on the location of the town square that resulted from the engagement.

About Panuku Development Auckland
Panuku Development Auckland is the Council-controlled organisation established to deliver urban redevelopment in Auckland. We work across multiple locations and scales - from large long-term urban regeneration projects, to small projects on specific sites – to meet the needs of the city’s long-term growth, including the requirement for more affordable homes. To find out more please visit www.panuku.co.nz, and sign up to the newsletter for regular updates.

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