The draft Howick Local Board Plan 2026 is open for submissions until 23 July, with the Board warning growth has left some community facilities behind
Residents have until 23 July to help shape the Howick Local Board’s priorities for the next three years, as the Board warns that rapid growth has outpaced the area’s community facilities.
“Rapid population growth has placed pressure on community assets, many of which have not kept pace, leaving some areas underserved,” Howick Local Board chair Bruce Kendall said in his foreword to the draft plan.
To address this, the Board proposes a more strategic, long-term approach to asset management, focused on making the most of existing resources and reducing inequities.
Kendall said the plan set both aspirational goals and practical actions, and would guide the Board’s work programmes, budgets and funding decisions.
He said tighter budgets meant new ways of working were needed.
“Reduced funding means we must find innovative ways to deliver value, including forming public-private partnerships and supporting local procurement,” Kendall said.
Kendall said reaching the plan’s goals would require difficult decisions.
He said the Board had committed to transparency and meaningful community engagement, and remained optimistic about the area’s future.
The draft plan sets the Board’s direction for the three financial years from 2027/2028 to 2029/2030, across five areas: community, the natural environment, the built environment, economic development and transport.
The Board approved the draft for consultation at its meeting on 28 May, developing it between November 2025 and May 2026 from years of resident feedback and the Annual Plan consultation.
Two in-person Have Your Say events, at Flat Bush Library on 27 June and Botany Library on 9 July, have already been held.
Submissions can still be made until 23 July through the Council’s Have Your Say website, by phoning 09 301 0101, or in writing.
The feedback form and a summary of the plan have been translated into Hindi, Simplified Chinese and Korean, with Easy Read and New Zealand Sign Language options also available.
The Board must adopt the final plan by 31 October.
