An Auckland Council decision to sell off a much-loved East Auckland reserve has been put on hold after the new mayor contacted Eke Panuku to pause all work on the process.
The reserve at 9R Fortyfoot Lane in Sunnyhills was to be stripped of its reserve status despite fierce support from many Auckland councillors, the local community and board.
Councillors met on July 26 over the motion to revoke the reserve status with Auckland councillors voting 13 to 8 against the motion.
It was the third vote over the much-fought over reserve at Sunnyhills' Fortyfoot Lane, which residents have banded together to protect. The second was when the Parks, Arts, Community and Events Committee (PACE) met in June to decide by vote over the reserve status. Eleven councillors voted for revoking the reserve and seven against.
The reserve was first flagged for selling as a result of the Asset Recycling programme initiated by Auckland Council under the 2020/2021 Emergency budget.
Significant submissions were made in the lead-up to the votes A group of residents banded together, even creating a website to raise awareness.
Eke Panuku is the council-controlled organisation which manages and reviews about $2.4 billion of Auckland land the council owns and is now responsible for managing the land at Fortyfoot Lane.
Brown has wasted no time in his first two weeks in the top job – in a series of open letters, he took aim at Auckland Transport, Eke Panuku and the Ports of Auckland, as well as demanding Watercare stops work on Three Waters. Watercare says it's not spending Auckland ratepayer money on Three Waters.
A spokesperson from Wayne Brown’s office told 1News in a statement that he’s contacted Eke Panuku to pause “all work on the matter” of Fortyfoot Lane.
"The Mayor is very much aware of this issue after Councillor Sharon Stewart brought it to his urgent attention on behalf of the people of Pakuranga.
"In response to Councillor Stewart’s advocacy, the Mayor has contacted Eke Panuku and asked that all work on the matter be paused until the new council has had an opportunity to reconsider the matter. The Mayor awaits further information from Councillor Stewart to ensure an informed decision can be made."
Stewart said it was good news and with further advocacy she hopes the decision to revoke the reserve status will be reversed.
"That should have been the original decision," she said.
A spokesperson for Eke Panuku told 1News it is cooperating with the mayor's request.
"At the request of Auckland Council, Eke Panuku has been managing the reserve revocation process for 9R Fortyfoot Lane, Sunnyhills. We can confirm the final documentation has not yet been supplied to the Department of Conservation.
"Following receipt of the request from Mayor-Elect Wayne Brown, Eke Panuku has paused all work on this site to enable the new council an opportunity to reconsider this matter.
"No further sites were included in the request."
A man with historic family links to the land said he’s relieved Brown is carrying out due diligence over the decision.
"The family, along with the local residents, will be delighted to hear that the Mayor is giving due consideration to the sell-down of the Fortyfoot Lane Reserve," Stephen Fisher said.
"The Family have had an historic link with that land since our father, the late Lou Fisher, acquired the farm land in the late 1930s before he left New Zealand to serve with the Expeditionary Forces in Europe during WW2."
Lou Fisher was the manufacturer of Fisher windows and doors and the Decramastic roof, founder of the Spirit of Adventure Trust and was a younger brother of Sir Woolf Fisher, one of the founders of Fisher and Paykel.
Albany Ward Councillor John Watson voted against revoking the reserve's status, saying preservation of green space is essential as Auckland housing intensification grows.
"When the initial vote was made in 2020, it was before Government legislation increased intensification levels across Auckland, now it’s coming like a tsunami.
"Any green spaces like Fortyfoot Lane should be held onto to cater for future generations.This makes the preservation of such green space more essential than ever for the health and wellbeing of communities," he said.
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