Monthly Report: September 2026
On 24 September, the Howick Local Board accepted my members report, my seventh report for the term (covering until 16 September).
While every local board member and our councillors have the opportunity to provide a written or verbal report, they don't have to. I think it's an important part of transparency, providing formal visibility of what we've been doing and the issues we are dealing with.
I've copied the text of the report here (for ease of reading), the images show the full report (4 pages, including pictures). The official version can be found here: https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12503/101143?type=2&docId=53153
"This is my seventh Members report for the term, with my last update covering up until 19 August.
Key themes:
• Lloyd Elsmore Skatepark a community partnership success.
• 1 in 7 local footpaths missing or broken highlights the challenges of transport reform
• LTP funding discussions must respond to our communities needs
Last weekend we celebrated the re-opening of the Lloyd Elsmore Skatepark after a significant rebuild of this much-loved community facility. The campaign to rebuild this facility was led by the community, in particular Aaron Martin of East Skate Club – his passion, commitment, and willingness to work with us has helped build a facility that better meets the varied needs of the wheeled play communities. It was clear from the large turnout that there is a strong desire for assets like this, and it’s great to see the Logan Carr upgrade well underway (on a much smaller scale). While our limited budget meant we couldn’t deliver everything that the community wanted at Lloyd Elsmore, having a masterplan that allowed us to future proof the space for lighting, water, shade, and a skatebowl provides an opportunity for future investment. Congratulations to everyone involved in making this project a success including council staff, contractors, and the community.
As transport returns to Auckland Council on 1 October, I’m concerned that we’ll be burdened with more failing and missing assets without funding or a plan to address the issues. There are too many footpaths that are cracked or missing, making it harder for children walking to school, older residents, parents with prams, and people using mobility aids to get around safely. After I requested an update on the state of our footpaths, Auckland Transport briefed the Howick Local Board. We now know the Howick Local Board area has roughly 548km of footpaths but there’s 54km with no footpath at all.
The historic approach of waiting for development to deliver new footpaths may save money, but it leaves communities waiting for years. The missing footpath on Chapel Road near Accent Drive is one example - used by school children, the permanent footpath has yet to materialise. A temporary gravel path installed two years ago helped, but it’s deteriorating and a lasting solution is needed. Even where footpaths exist, they need attention - around 25km are in poor or very poor condition, with large cracks and other defects affecting safety.
Whether its recreational facilities, footpaths, or playgrounds, funding is clearly our greatest challenge. Our opportunity to resolve this is in the upcoming Long-term Plan (LTP). I’m deeply concerned that the only discussions about local board funding have proposed even more reductions and greater regionalisation of assets. The possible loss of pools and leisure centres would be devastating to our balance sheet and could put critical projects at risk, including the Flat Bush temporary library, pool and leisure centre, and Te Taiwhanga Taiohi East Auckland Youth Space. It was clear from the feedback on our local board plan that our community wants us to focus on maintaining and delivering playgrounds, recreational spaces and sports facilities. Our LTP discussions must be focused on responding to the needs our growing communities."