By Peter Haynes
Chair of Albert Eden Local Board
THE Albert-Eden Local Board’s master plan for Chamberlain Park, adopted in 2015, widens the uses of park currently open only to paying golfers.
It envisages a nine-hole golf course with a driving range and learn-to-play facilities, two high-use sports fields, a local park with a new playground, BBQ facilities, etc, walking and cycling paths, the restoration of a major section of the Meola Creek/Waititikō and wetlands and space for a replacement for the aquatic centre that must move from the Mt Albert Grammar School site.
Auckland Council took over the operation of the golf course on Chamberlain Park in 2013, and this provided a chance to look at the best use of the 32.2 ha of precious open space.
Key factors in the decision to widen the uses of the park were the severe shortfall in sports field capacity in this part of Auckland, and the low amount of open space per person—the lowest in Auckland, according to officials. Buying land in our area isn’t really an option. There’s precious little, and it’s hideously expensive.
Future-proofing
Further, the area surrounding the park in Mt Albert and Pt Chevalier has seen a lot of intensification in recent decades, but much more growth is planned in coming years. Not only are Unitec planning to develop for another 5500 people just to the south, but the changes to the Unitary Plan will see a lot of intensive development just to the west. The master plan is about future-proofing as well as dealing with today’s problems.
So we looked at the options. We consulted twice on whether we should look at a wider range of uses and decided on the basis of those consultations to proceed to consult on four options for the master plan. (A master plan is more of an aspirational plan, and does not commit to any spending or timetable.)
There were three rounds of consultation before the adoption of the master plan. In the first round (the draft 2014 Local Board Plan), the local board consulted on whether or not it should look at options to widen the uses of the park, so the status quo was an option.
The consultation summary of the draft local board plan was clear:
“Over the next three years we want to… review the use of Chamberlain Park and consult with the community on options for maximizing its recreational use …”
A large number of submissions were received for and against looking at options to move away from the status quo. Having got support for change, the board then consulted on how the park should be changed.
As well as a nine-hole course, the master plan includes new golfing facilities such as a driving range, practice area and/or learn-to-play area that the experts say will improve the appeal of the course to many casual players and support the growth of golf as a pastime.
Golf has declined in popularity in recent years as people find it harder to find 4 to 5 hours for an 18-hole game. Nine-hole courses are common in New Zealand and elsewhere. According to the National Golf Foundation, “4200 nine-hole courses dot the US golf landscape” and 30% of public courses are nine-hole, and many golfers play nine holes. In NZ, there are 135 nine-hole courses and about 260 of 18 holes and 3 of 27 holes.
In fact, the United States Golf Association (the national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the US and Mexico) promotes nine-hole golf as a key part of its strategy to revitalise the game.
In a similar vein, the NZ Golf Association is moving to make nine-hole scores eligible for handicapping.
50,000 rounds a year
The decline in participation in golf has been reflected in use of Chamberlain Park, where the number of rounds played has been stable at around 50,000 rounds per year, after a steady decline from 82,372 in 2001–2002 to 47,458 in 2014–2015.
The restoration of the 1051m of Waititikō/Meola Creek, which meanders through the western portion of the park, is a key part of stage one. It is planned for next year and includes planting on the stream banks, restoring much of the flood plains and two wetlands and native forest planting. It would form part of a bird corridor linking other exposed parts of the Waititikō with the Meola Reef and Western Springs.
The local board recognises the urgent need to act to improve the quality of Auckland’s waterways and the Waititikō in particular, and this project is the best way that we can make a material difference. Naturalisation of the stream area has strong support from local environmental groups. (Note: the awa which runs through Chamberlain Park represents about 28% of its length open to the sky, not including 1826 metres that has been culverted.)
The new local park at the western end of the park includes a playground to replace the basic, 1950s-style playground at Rawalpindi Reserve, which is limited and marred by the stench of sewage, an informal recreation area and BBQ areas.
A path along the Waititikō will allow walkers and cyclists to connect the ‘landlocked’ housing to the south of the park with the NW cycleway.
The master plan includes sports fields. Most sports codes are lacking playing field capacity on the isthmus and many have expressed their interest in the planned fields. Cricket, for example, says that it is at least 12 pitches short across the isthmus. A wet winter means we see sports fields closed and people unable to play sport.
We are trying to upgrade the sports fields we have to increase hours of play and avoid closure in wet weather, but only a handful are suitable. Too many of our sports fields are sited on small parks close to neighbours. So sports fields at Chamberlain Park represent the best opportunity to increase capacity and ease the pressure elsewhere in the network. Remember, there will still be a shortfall in our area even after the upgrade programme is completed.
New aquatic centre
The current aquatic centre in Mt Albert will need to move within 5 to 8 years. The local board is pressing hard for a replacement aquatic centre to be built in Mt Albert. Securing a site in Chamberlain Park gives local people some hope of retaining the replacement pool in the Mt Albert area.
Much has been made of the likely cost of the project, with some people latching onto a figure of $30m that was the very top end of the range of options included in the master plan. But the range was from $13m to $30m.
The cost of stage 1 (Western End Park, playground, a shared path and stream restoration) is likely to be around $4m. It’s important to note that $2m is for the stream and wetland restoration, and doesn’t come from the ratepayer, but rather is paid by developers to offset the undergrounding of waterways elsewhere. Further, a big chunk of the $1.25m for the local park is for the playground, which would be renewed at Rawalpindi Reserve in any event.
The cost of reconfiguring the golf course to a 9-hole course is estimated at $3m. The cost of providing a platform for playing fields and associated infrastructure is estimated at $7m. The cost of the sports fields themselves are part of a regional budget to tackle the shortfall in sports field capacity and will be spent somewhere across Auckland. We’d rather that was where the need is greatest.
So the total cost, excepting the cost of sportsfields and a replacement aquatic centre, is expected to be much closer to the lowest figure ($13m) and nowhere near $30m. Furthermore, careful financial analysis estimates increased revenue from the new golfing facilities will pay back $10m of the cost of stage 2 in 10 years.
In sum, for relatively little additional cost to the ratepayers, we are looking at significantly widening the range of options for users of this precious green space near the city centre as well as restoring its natural values.
By Geoff Senescall 
The board needs to convince the council that its plans make sense as it is the council that controls the purse strings.
