gettingdenser localmatters.co.nz/Features/GrowthFEATURE

gettingdenser 17MahurangimattersOctober 1, 2015

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Who should decide how Warkworth grows over the next 30 years – Auckland Council planners or the people who live here?We think it should be ‘the locals’ – the people who have already made an investment in the town through their decision to live and work here, send their children to school here and retire here.

With this in mind, we have started to canvas the views of some well-known residents and business people on some of the strategies in the Proposed Unitary Plan. While we suggested that comments be limited to around 200 words, it was encouraging to find that most correspondents went well over that limit in their enthusiasm to talk on the topic.

We start with the views of Craig Powell, Nicola Jones, Penny Webster and Joy Bell. Coming up in the next issue, out on October 14, we will hear from Burnette Macnicol, Hamish Alexander, Mark Forrest and Warkworth School students. Join the conversationWe would love to hear your views on Warkworth’s future, the sort of growth

that should be encouraged, what’s important to get right, what don’t we want to lose as we grow and how can this be achieved? Be as conservative or as visionary as you like with what you would like Warkworth to look like in 30 years time.Comments can be added to this story online at localmatters.co.nz or email them to editor@localmatters.co.nz

Speaking up on Warkworth’s future

In 30 years time, Warkworth’s public transport system will be a national drawcard. It will have a self-propelled electric tram system, which travels a circular route linking Woodcocks Rd, Queen St, A&P Showgrounds and back to Woodcocks Rd via Falls Road.Reduced sedimentation in the harbour will provide good fishing and less siltation will mean an increase in the number of private vessels coming to Warkworth. There will also be a ferry service from Auckland which brings visitors on public holidays and for the Kowhai Festival.Many of these people arrive to walk and bike along the popular Warkworth to Omaha trail, over-nighting in Matakana.Local horticulture is booming and

supplies produce to Auckland and Warkworth’s weekly market.But, based on the current political model, I’m not confident that this vision will be realised. Warkworth is more likely to become another soul-less concrete entity like Albany.Population growth may increase local jobs and wealth, but it will exponentially increase pollution, destruction of natural food resources, poverty and crime.We should value what we have. Warkworth should be given the opportunity to assume control of its own growth rather than be dictated to by Auckland consultants and the Environment Court.

Value what we have - Craig PowellWhen we asked our cartoonist Craig Powell to give us his thoughts on Warkworth’s growth, we knew to expect something a bit out of the box. He didn’t disappoint:

A tram running through Warkworth sounds like fun.

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gettingdenser18 Mahurangimatters October 1, 2015

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Warkworth has changed so much from when I grew up here. Change is normal nowadays but I’d love to see Warkworth hang onto its special ‘community-oriented’ feel that it has always had. It’s nice to live and work in a community that is supportive, friendly and familiar, with few issues like crime and chaos (parking issues aside!) so it’d be nice to see that vibe remain even once the population grows up here.I’d like to see the Warkworth town centre area remain primarily single-storeyed to maintain that village atmosphere and allow for boutique retail shops that become a destination in their own right. It would be amazing to have a visionary developer come through and turn all the buildings around to face the river. Ideally, this would be someone with a genuine sense of community development so it is not simply done with only financial benefit in mind. We have such a unique asset in the river and it is such a shame we aren’t utilising it as well as we could (thinking of recreation and transport options). Now that I have small children I am more aware of the lack of specific recreational activity/open public space areas we have available – which doesn’t make sense as we have some of the most amazing scenery anywhere in the world. I’d love to see

Hang on to what’s special - Nicola JonesWarkworth Area Business Association treasurer and businesswoman, Nicola Jones’ family has lived in the Mahurangi area for many generations. She shares her views on growth:

Growth predicted in the Proposed Unitary Plan will mean Warkworth will expand to both the north and the south. Tourism is likely to be a thriving industry due to the walkway/cycleway planned for Puhoi to Mangawhai and the old highway becoming a tourist route. By then there should be regular bus services down the motorway linking Orewa, Silverdale, Albany and Britomart. Cycleways will also link most of the eastern beaches.Warkworth town centre will be a vibrant hub with some apartments and town houses near the centre of the town, though still predominately character, single house dwellings. The riverbank should stay clear of buildings and be a rest and recreation area. More boats will use the river as by then we will have stopped the silting.

Cycleways and buses - Penny Webster

the wide walkway from town to the Cement Works completed, a bike and skate park for the kids to have fun at and learn skills, and completion of the cycleways that are planned so that we don’t have to navigate narrow roads on our bikes. A public pool is beyond overdue! Retaining the annual Kowhai Festival, Santa Parade and fostering local street markets also needs to be protected to maintain our identity – these events bring a lot of people to town and create excellent exposure.I see having a community-lead Structure Plan in place will help ensure Warkworth is connected and the town grows cohesively as one, ensuring no industrial versus retail or north versus south splits. I work in community groups that are made up of volunteers who are passionate about making Warkworth the best place it can possibly be – and because they care enough to work hard (i.e

get off their seats and get involved in processes where decisions are made that affect the future of Warkworth), most of the visions will eventually be realised. It will just take slightly longer to happen as fundraising, volunteer effort and Council consultation takes time. Having a Warkworth Business Improvement District in place would be a small step in the right direction to move things along at a pace that is in time with growth.The predicted growth does threaten our identity and the community-feel of the town. Demand will drive the arrival of the big-box businesses but this means we will start to look very similar to many other towns in NZ. We need to ensure we work hard to maintain the unique reasons why people come to love, work and visit our beautiful region.

Rodney representative on Auckland Council and former Mayor of Rodney, Penny Webster, gives her views on the future:

Nicola Jones wants to see the walkway along the Mahurangi Riverbank to the Cement Works finished.

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In 2040 I would like to see Warkworth as the mosaic capital of NZ, starting with what is now known as the Atlas site which could be the hub of all community-based artistic endeavours.I would like to see both the northern and southern gateways in and out of Warkworth heralding and reflecting this area’s natural beauty with mosaics. I would love to see walkways and cycleways connecting the showgrounds and the Mahurangi River to the Cement Works with mosaic benches, reminding visitors of the historical importance of the river. The Cement Works could be the ultimate destination, combining the ruins, swimming hole and the boat yards with cafes and family-friendly

activities. I would love to mosaic the edges of the ruins with historical and natural mosaics, whilst leaving the interior of the ruins out of bounds.At present, the gateways in and out of Warkworth are destined to provide the visual pollution of a transit station, signage for Maccas, supermarkets and whatever other giant retailers come along, all competing for our attention. Everything that made Warkworth unique, it’s beauty and history, will be diluted by commercial signage. We will end up as one big ‘service station’ for Aucklanders convenience to access beaches and beyond. Warkworth’s identity will be lost.

A mosaic capital, Joy BellKaipara Flats-based mosaic artist, Joy Bell, who transformed the Warkworth town clock tower last year, gives an artist’s view of what Warkworth’s future might hold:

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Joy Bell wants to see more mosaics like the one she created on the Warkworth clock tower.