Weekly Wrap Up: 14 September 2026
Each week I’m providing a quick summary of the meetings and events I’ve attended as a member of the Howick Local Board (HLB). This is my report for last week, starting Monday 14 September.
On Tuesday morning I attended the Business East Tāmaki Committee Meeting. They’re busy preparing for their AGM in October as well as a refresh of their strategic and business plan. I provided an update on the transport reform, noting that most of their roads sit within regional decision-making.
On Tuesday evening I attended the Howick Volunteer Coastguard AGM. This amazing group of volunteers do incredible work, saving lives at sea across the Hauraki Gulf. Support by the Howick Borough Council since it was founded in 1956, the Howick Local Board continues this tradition of support today with operational funding to cover costs, including the rising price of fuel.
On Thursday we had our workshop (https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12299).
💰Howick Local Grant Round One 2026/2027 Grant Allocations: closed “to enable the local board and staff to hold free and frank discussion”.
🛠️ Quarterly Facilities Maintenance Update with Ventia: 2,400+ requests responded to in 2026 so far, 99% completed within SLA. 500 staff and contractors, bringing on more staff for Summer to manage increased demands.
🛝Tir Conaill Playground design: following public consultation in May 2025, staff have a design that responds to community needs with focus on swings, slides, and climbing. Junior (5-12) and senior (8-12) play areas separated by picnic area and seating.
🪧Lloyd Elsmore Park Signage: staff are exploring options to replace and upgrade signage to make it easier to navigate one of our premier parks (e.g. where toilets are). I suggested they consider visual approach (like a map) to provide multilingual communication.
🚧Pakuranga Community Hall: closed as workshop “contains commercially sensitive information”.
This was followed by an additional meeting (https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/14143) for us to provide early feedback on draft proposals for local board funding. We supported an equity-based funding model, proactive increases based on population growth and inflation, and better deprivation calculations. We opposed the regionalisation of pools and leisure centres (which would remove $1.2M from our community) and other proposals to remove funding from local boards (providing in principal support if regionally funded).
Meetings/activities planned for this week:
📅Thu 24 Sep: HLB meeting (https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12503)
📅Sat 26 Sep: Celebrating Cultures Opening Event (https://www.botanytowncentre.co.nz/events/cultural-pop-up.html)
📅Sat 26 Sep: Howick and Districts Historical Society AGM