Roskill Community Voice

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Media Release: Seeking Big Ideas for Mt Roskill Town Centre

For immediate release

“It is time for action to turn the Mt Roskill Town Centre from a scruffy strip to an inviting hub – a place that is safe and inviting, supports our local businesses, and reflects the vibrancy and diversity of our people,” says Bobby Shen, architectural designer and Roskill Community Voice candidate for the Puketāpapa Local Board.

“It’s one of the top issues constituents raise with me,” says Michael Wood, Member of Parliament for Mt Roskill. “There’s a real frustration that our town centre is so much less than what it could be, and so I’m working with Roskill Community Voice to host a public meeting on the matter, Sunday 28th July, 3.30pm at Winstone Park Tennis Club.”

“Mt Roskill Town Centre has faced many years of decline owing to the pulling power of the malls, the loss of major businesses that generate foot-traffic, uncertainty over transport planning, and a lack of private and public investment. The forthcoming footpath and streetscape improvements due to happen later this year will help the town centre, but a more comprehensive and planned approach is necessary to really revitalise it and give it a future as a people-place in our community,” says Harry Doig, current Chair of the Puketāpapa Local Board.

Roskill Community Voice is seeking “Big Ideas for Mt Roskill Town Centre” through a local postcard campaign, where people can drop their ideas into Copies Plus in the main shops, Foxie Hair at 887 Dominion Rd, or give their thoughts online at www.roskillcv.org.nz/bigideas.

“We need some community ideas and community action to turn our town centre around, and make it a real heart for our people. I’m looking forward to hearing what locals think and working together to make a real difference,” says Bobby Shen.

Contacts:
Bobby Shen – ph 0211725235
Email bobbyshenpuketapapa@gmail.com

Harry Doig – ph 0272412209
Email Harry.doig@gmail.com

Michael Wood MP – ph 0226506360

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Better footpaths blitz

Have you come across broken or damaged footpaths in your neighbourhood?  Well we’ve created handy form for you to report these issues so that we can log them into the system to be fixed up.

Create your own user feedback survey

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Wesley keeps its name

After a developer tried to use the Wesley name for a new residential suburb in Franklin in 2017, the local community campaigned to show what the name means to them and why it needed to stay central. We supported them with public meetings, coordinating the campaign, and working with the Mt Roskill Puketapapa Historical Society to promote an online petition, as well as door-knocking in the area for more signatures.

The developer withdrew their application for the name, and the Wesley community then applied, through local Member of Parliament Michael Wood, to make their name official. It was gazetted in November 2018 and officially approved in early 2019.

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Safer Three Kings: No More Bottle Stores

In 2018 we helped the Three Kings community to stop a new off-licence alcohol store from opening in their neighbourhood, and we won!

The campaign included several public meetings, encouraging and gathering submissions opposing the new store for the liquor licence process, an online petition signed by over 300 locals with several hundred more paper signatures, and working with Michael Wood, MP for Mt Roskill, and the Puketapapa Local Board.

The application for a new off-licence (bottle store) at 509 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings, was WITHDRAWN by the applicant,because of the large number of community objections – well done everyone for speaking up and making sure Super Liquor and the applying business owner knew Three Kings wasn’t ok with another bottle store in our community.

This is a huge win, thank you so much for your support!

Petition background
Alcohol Healthwatch estimates alcohol-related harm in New Zealand costs $14.5m each day. The brunt is disproportionately on youth, Maori and Pasifika in our communities, and there is a link between high density of off-licences and the heavier drinking patterns that result in much of the harm. Harm includes the health of the drinker themselves, such as increased rates of cancer and fetal alcohol syndrome, as well as harm to others, with alcohol playing a direct or indirect role in many fire fatalities, drownings, suicide and self-inflicted harm deaths, and the growing road toll.

43% of all alcohol is sold from off-licences, like the one proposed. This Super Liquor would be a large store, the size of the old bed shop, likely focused on selling bulk amounts of alcohol at low prices. It would increase the amount of alcohol in our community when we need to limit supply, and in particular reduce sales from off-licences where the liquor is then consumed in unsupervised circumstances (in contrast with on-licences).

Three Kings already has a large number of off-licences and problems with anti-social behaviour as a result of alcohol abuse.

There have been repeated incidents of violence and abuse in the carpark across the road from the proposed site, at 546 Mt Albert Rd, with alcohol playing a role. Several nearby shops, including existing bottle shops, have been violently robbed in particular the Liquor Legends on Duke St and the Crown Superette on Melrose Rd.

Local schools and parks end up vandalised and littered with broken glass, as people drink alcohol purchased at bottle shops in public despite liquor bans. Resources of both council and schools have to be used to clean up the mess, when some of it could be avoided by reducing the sale of alcohol in the area.

There are a number of local sites of cultural importance where anti-social behaviour fueled by alcohol would be inappropriate, including places of worship such as the almost adjacent Three Kings Congregational Church, and Ranfurly Retirement Village which is a war memorial to the Boer War and thus a place of remembrance as well as home to some of our more vulnerable older people.

Finally, the District Licensing Committee process allows people to make submissions to object to the application, and this petition is an important opportunity for those who can’t make a submission to still be able to show their opposition. It is possible there will also be a hearing on this application, particularly if the petition is signed by a lot of locals, which will provide another opportunity for the local community to have a say.

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Community Connection

Updated for 2019

Community connection is so important, and the local board has an important role to play to support people to know their neighbours and their area, and have an opportunity to celebrate and share their cultures.

What we’ve done

  • Championed local heritage, saving important local buildings, investing in heritage studies, signage and trails, and building a strong relationship with the Mt Roskill (Puketapapa) Historical Society to support their role in researching and publicising Roskill’s history.
  • Restored the historic former Mt Roskill Borough Council building as the home of local government in our area.
  • Advocated for a Living Wage so that work is rewarded, local people can live with dignity, and spending power in our local economy is increased and everyone can participate fully in our community.
  • Established local children’s panels at primary and intermediate schools to ensure that we receive input from our youngest citizens, and grow a culture of civic participation.
  • Improved council support to enable local community groups, through capacity-building work and strategic relationship grants with key local organisations, as well as small and easy to get “quick response” grants. We have significantly increased the funding available to the community through grants over the last six years.
  • Promoted the inclusion of the Mental Health Foundation’s Five Ways to Wellbeing framework in local projects, to improve the mental health of our community.
  • Expand the engagement and consultation work of the Local Board to give everyone who wants a say a chance to be heard, including a monthly community forum and board stalls at local events.
  • Advocated successfully for Auckland Council to become a CEDAW City (supporting women’s rights and inclusion) and to become “age-friendly”.

What’s Next

  • Continue our ongoing advocacy to ensure that important local heritage sites are protected and recognised, either through formal scheduling, or the provision of information about the heritage value of the site.
  • Restore the Whare at Monte Cecilia Park for appropriate community use
  • Advocate for library services to be provided in the Wesley area, which currently has some of the poorest library access on the isthmus.
  • Further innovate in the area of community consultation and engagement to really make sure everyone can have a say in local decision-making