Ponsonby Park – May Update

Good news – Ponsonby Park is progressing well! 

The Community-Led Design Group for Ponsonby Park, the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road, has had several meetings with Council Officers tasked with realising the project. It is an exciting time and it is uplifting to finally be making significant headway after so many years of delays and waiting.

The ‘Request for Proposal’ (RFP) has gone out to the short-listed design practices and these were due to be returned by today, 20 April – press deadline day. There are three design practices vying for this prime project. By the time you read this, the RFPs will have already been returned and undergone evaluation. Two design practices will have progressed through to a face-to-face interview and discussion, and Council’s ‘awarding process’ will be concluding. The aim is to appoint the successful design company by the end of the first week in May. 

Brilliant!

It has been 23 years since the need for the civic space amenity was first identified in  2000, and 17 years since the site at 254 Ponsonby Road (currently LiquorLand) was purchased to remedy this open space shortfall. It was 10 years ago in 2013 that a petition with over 1200 signatures (calling for the retention of the whole site for the civic space) was presented to the Waitematā Local Board. The result of this was the establishment of the Community-Led Design Group, which has been working hard to achieve this community amenity since then. The Community-Led Design Group will be part of the ongoing ‘Design Group’ working alongside Council officers and will continue to actively advocate for the outcomes you have told us are important. 

Ponsonby Park will be a wonderful community amenity, meeting existing needs, as well as being an exemplar of community engagement, design excellence, and delivery. So we’re delighted that the transformation of the neglected and shabby site at 254 Ponsonby Road into a beautiful and energised civic space for everyone to enjoy is now underway and progressing well. The Ponsonby Park development will benefit not only the local residents and local businesses but all visitors to Ponsonby as well. Ponsonby Park will be a wonderful attractor to the area and will provide both the amenity that Ponsonby needs and the community heart that it deserves.

For further information, or to view the archives of the Community-Led Design process that resulted in the international award-winning Park+ Concept Design by LandLAB, please visit our website 254ponsonbyrd.org.nz

Be happy – Ponsonby Park is happening!