NEWMARKET PARK petition (1).doc
Jennifer
STOP THE DEFORESTATION OF NEWMARKET PARK
Petition to the Auckland City Council
We the undersigned, ask the Auckland City Council to stop the proposed deforestation of Newmarket Park, which is planned as part of Newmarket Park redevelopment.
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We hope you may be able to assist in stopping this desecration of the park.
This is Urgent as work as already started.
Thank you. Gloria Jenkins
Green thieves?
John Landrigan | 21st January 2010
· 
Print
Ethne Thomas says the council's tidy-up at Newmarket Park is overkill - for trees, birds and wildlife. MICHELLE HYSLOP
Give us your thoughts on this story.
This is not some idyllic spot in the green hills of Titirangi. Believe it or not, this is an idyllic spot just a couple of bus stops from Downtown Auckland. So why, asks John Landrigan, does the city council want to chop down these glorious trees?
Children learn about the vital job that trees and their tangled root systems do to prevent land slips. So why are 2.5ha of native and exotic bush being removed from a central Auckland park?
Auckland City Council is removing thousands of trees from an area the size of three and a half rugby fields.
The "remedial'' work at Newmarket Park to prevent slips and seepage into a creek caused by a former rubbish tip is costing $5.3 million.
But concerned resident Ethne Thomas says it is rampant, unnecessary deforestation of the natural habitat of a large variety of exotic and native birds: pukeko, pheasants,
fantails, kingfishers, quails and moreporks.
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Two native skink species are being moved to neighbouring Ayr St Reserve.
Newmarket Park is a closed landfill, its southern slope said to be under threat of slips. Over the next two years, the council will rip out the existing plants, excavate, then rebuild the slope. It will then plant the area with native vegetation.
Mrs Thomas, whose home overlooks the impressive green belt, says it could be 30 years before a new forest is established and another 30 years before it reaches the maturity of some of the current trees.
She likens the removal of trees to opencast mining and dreads the chug of logging trucks, chainsaws and bulldozers at the park.
"Some of the bird species will never return. There are other unstable areas that the council are conserving in their natural state.''
Mrs Thomas has circulated a petition among her neighbours and says most were not aware of the scale of the project. She only found out about it in October and, after two months of badgering the council, she received the full engineers' report just last week.
"There are other options that could be explored further to prevent the destruction of this park,'' she says.
Mrs Thomas says a much cheaper option of controlling groundwater would limit disturbance to the slope and deserves further investigation.
Newmarket Protection Society was very vocal on plans for the park. Its president, Robin Bailey, says the society was told of drainage work but was not aware of the plan to strip the southern slope of its bush.
"There has been no opportunity for community input to this plan. We feel some direct contact should have been made.''
Auckland City Councillor Aaron Bhatnagar is happy with the consultation and passionate about removing the rubbish under the bush.
"This is a public safety risk. We have to reduce the risk to stop people being hurt. Children are playing on a tip. Is [Mrs Thomas's] view outside her home more important than public safety?''
The council commissioned a report from Tonkin and Taylor engineers, which says the
entire slope is fill and at risk of failure in the future.
"I am perfectly confident there is rubbish the length of the site,'' says Mr Bhatnagar. "There is a risk of discharge into the harbour. I have been to the site and seen sheets of corrugated iron, batteries, old television sets.''
NZ Forest and Bird spokesman Nick Beverage says he is satisfied with the proposal for
replanting the area and the rescue and relocation of the skinks. He says there is enough
surrounding vegetation for bird life.
Giving ground
Newmarket Park was originally cleared of native vegetation in the 1840s. On the western slope of Newmarket Stream gully, the park was previously known as Slaughterhouse Creek. The gully was a tip site in the 1920s.
A flat area was formed in the 1930s by cutting ridges and filling the valleys for an athletic track and stadium that remained until 1962. It hosted sporting greats such as Sir Peter Snell and Sir Murray Halberg.
After 1962 the Auckland Football Association built a vast terrace and a grandstand and the park became the national soccer stadium. Major internationals were played there until 1979 when a landslip carried away one grandstand, part of the playing field and damaged other facilities. In 1988, more subsidence undermined the terrace.
Later the council considered using it as a cultural theme park for European migrants, Japanese cultural centre, bowling green, botanical garden, rugby fields, driving range and plastic skifield.
Deforestation of Newmarket Park
The Auckland City Council plan to remove 2 hectares of mature forest on the slope of Newmarket Park. The purpose of this development is to stabilise the bank to stabilise the bank. However, the council has not undertaken an environmental assessment or risk assessment of the area.
As a neighbour and resident in the area you should be concerned about:
- Loss of value to your property
- Loss of natural environment and amenity
- Loss of bird life
- Loss of recreational space
- Further damage to the environment
- Lack of consultation by the council
- Lack of due diligence undertaken by the council
Once this forest is removed there are no guarantees that it will be replanted. It would take at least another 20-30 years to re-establish a forest and some of the bird life may never return.
We have a great city and a great country and we need to keep it that way. To loose a forest in the heart of our city would be a huge loss to Auckland and all of New Zealand.
It is urgent to take action as the deforestation is due to start in January 2010. Please make a stand and use your influence to put a stop to the removal of our forest.
ü Sign the petition
ü Contact your local Councillors
Aaron Bhatnagar, 021 872 871
Email: cr.bha...@aucklandcity.govt.nz
Ken Baguley, 09 520 1638
Email: cr.ba...@aucklandcity.govt.nz
His Worship the Mayor, John Banks
Email: ma...@aucklandcity.govt.nz
Forrest Removed
Before
After (an artist impression)
Petition organised by Ethne Thomas 09 520 2272
I fear something should be done about this, what are your's suggestions. Best wishes for your. Gloria Jenkins.
Phone 377-3351
Dear John Banks, Mayor of Auckland City
I am writing to you out of concern for the proposed deforestation of 2.5 hectares of forest on the slopes of Newmarket Park, which is due to take place in January as part of the redevelopment of Newmarket Park.
The rationale for the redevelopment is that there is a slip risk as the site is an old rubbish dump, and that there could be contamination into the waterway / drain. There seems to have been little consideration for the level of risk compared to other natural sites around Auckland, and little consideration of the impact of deforestation of a mature forest. Some trees are estimated to be 60 years old.
I am asking you to allow people more time to reconsider the redevelopment before it happens. Following a letter I wrote to Desley Simpson, Chairperson of Hobson Community Board, she requested a report on the comparative risk, and as the council does not have such a report, it will undertake to do one. However, by the time this report is written about a third of the deforestation is scheduled to have occurred
1. Risk assessment
This is a copy of a letter I wrote to Desley which gives you some of the background to this request. The letter expresses my concerns and requests information on risk assessment.
Dear Desley
Thank you for talking to me on Monday and agreeing to consider and answer the queries I have with the Newmarket Park redevelopment project.
As you know 2 hectares of forest will be deforested under the proposed plan and I would like to prevent this deforestation as it will be a great loss to people who live and work in the area, to the environment and Auckland as a whole.
I am not an expert at working with councils on bringing about changes to council processes. I am requesting and hoping that as the chairperson of the Hobson Community Board you will enable me and others to facilitate this change by providing me with information and guiding me through a process to stop this deforestation from occurring.
I have been told that there are two areas of concern to council that have led them to their decision.
1. There could be a slip and anyone using the pathways in the forest, the access road and park at the time of a slip could be at risk.
2. Contaminates from the old dump could (or do) leach into the waterway and pollute the harbour.
Addressing the first concern. Every slope and cliff face in Auckland is at risk of slips and endangering people and property in Auckland because of the nature of the ground composition and our heavy rainfall. At the base of the cliff on the eastern side of Hobson Bay, which is about 300 meters from Newmarket Park, there is a walkway that was completed about two years ago. Since that time there have been numerous slips. Boulders and trees sometimes come down the cliff onto the path below when slips occur. I walked along this path at the weekend and took over 20 photos of recent slips, there are large trees along the cliff face with root systems extensively exposed that will eventually fall onto the path. It was a calm, dry day and while I was there, there was a small slip of sand and stones. That is the natural environment we have in Auckland.
My questions are:
What is the level of risk associated with Newmarket Park having a major slip compared with the level of risk on the Hobson Bay walkway?
There are currently far more slips occurring on the Hobson Bay walkway, and if you are going to cut back the slope at Newmarket Park to make it more stable, is the council going to be consistent with other slopes and cliff faces in Auckland? If so does that mean the council will cut back the cliff in Hobson Bay and remove the trees and rocks that could fall on people using the walkway?
Addressing the second concern: The waterway that is being contaminated, is also used as a storm water drain for Newmarket and this area can heavily pollute the stream. It is also contaminated by waste water from the sewage system alongside it. What is the extent of pollution that is attributed to the park's landfill? Could some or all of it just be from the storm water from Newmarket. One would assume testing was done to the water quality before Newmarket Park to know that Newmarket Park is not the pollutant. I would like information that specifies what the contaminates are and what the level of contamination is before the stream reaches the park and when the stream passes the end of Newmarket Park?
I have also been told that there were measures of contamination taken in the park itself, can you send this information too?
I am aware that there is not much time left before the contractors are due to start the deforestation process in January, so I would appreciate your most urgent attention and assistance with this.
Yours sincerely
Ethne Thomas
P S I have photos of slips and areas that are in danger further slips on the Hobson Bay slip. If those photos would be helpful for you I will be happy to send them.
As mayor of Auckland I would like you to consider delaying the deforestation until after this report has been received and the council has time to consider the relative risk compared to other slopes and cliff faces around Auckland. It may be that the risk is low in comparison and the work is not warranted. In this case the forest might be saved.
2. Consultation Process
I am also concerned at the reported "extensive consultation process" that is supposed to have occurred for the proposed redevelopment. My house looks onto this forest and I received no notification of this is and neither did my neighbours, although we were supposed to have. The park is used by many people and it is in their interest to know about this proposed redevelopment. I and others who use the park have not seen notices in the park about this proposal, and people I have spoken who use the park know nothing of this. There were only 8 members of the public at the open meeting, which may be an indicator that not many people knew about this.
3. Impact Deforestation will have on the Environment.
This is an extract from a letter I wrote to Desley and other community board members which shows some of the negative impact that deforestation will have on the existing environment, and why it is important for the residents and the city of Auckland to retain this forest and the park if possible. It also considers other naturally occurring environments in the same area.
Deforestation of Newmarket Park /Ayr St
The Auckland City council is planning a deforestation of 2 hectares of mature forest on the slopes Newmarket Park and 6 to 10 meters inside the park itself.
This area provides a green belt that is unique. It is within a close proximity of a built up area and yet provides a natural environment; a restful place for people to visit, sit and walk. People walk through the forest to and from work and visit the park for a variety of recreational reasons. There is a children’s play ground, a basket ball playing around, a dog off the lead exercise area, and a pond. Many neighbouring residential properties look onto this green belt. It enhances people’s quality of life and the value of their properties.
It is also unique in providing a natural habitat for a large variety of birds, some exotic and some native. With the forest destroyed many of the bird species will not survive. In particular ground species that live in the undergrowth such as Pukeko, pheasant and quail who currently live and breed in the area. Other species such as Morpork will find it difficult to adapt to living in urban Auckland without he shelter and food that is provided by the forest and the park.
There are other unstable areas that the council are conserving in their natural state. For example the new Hobson Bay walk way at the bottom of Parnell cliff was constructed and opened two years ago and there were at least twenty slips in recent years. The paths remain open and I have not heard of any remedial action planned to modify the cliff. The pathways have been carefully constructed around trees so as to preserve them.
I have been told by Tonkin and Taylor, the consulting firm, that on their recommendation the council intends to create a serious of terraces instead of a slope at Newmarket Park and, take away between 6 and 10 meters of the park itself. The proposal is to plant grass and eventually plant some one year old trees. If they do this, and there are no guarantees they will, then it will be another 30 years before a new forest matures. Some of the bird species will never return.
Conclusion
I hope you will take the time to consider this letter and make a decision that allows all interested people time to reconsider this redevelopment when more extensive reports on measured levels of risk have been obtained. We have a great city and a great country and we need to keep it that way. To loose a forest in the heart of our city would be a huge loss to Auckland and all of New Zealand.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely
Ethne Thomas
3/154 Bassett Rd, Remuera, Auckland.
5202272 or 021 1083249.
--
Jennifer Wang
PhD Candidate
School of Hospitality and Tourism
Faculty of Applied Humanities
Auckland University of Technology
New Zealand
