Last night the Kaipātiki Local Board finally finished what Rosie Bolt herself had begun in the 1980s when she fought to keep the land from being sold. Back then she managed to convince the Northcote Borough Council to declare the land as a park, but unfortunately the process wasn’t completed. That left the door open for Panuku to try to sell it. We first found out about Panuku’s intentions in 2015, and the Shore Action team has been fighting to keep the pocket park since then.
It’s been a long journey, jumping through legal hoops, and arguing the case against other local board members who wanted to sell it, but last night we brought it to a close by formally declaring Rosie Bolt Reserve a “local purpose (community use) reserve” under the Reserves Act 1977!
It is the first time that a local board has been successful in saving parkland in this way, and today we’re proud to say that the Kaipātiki area has one more reserve than it did yesterday 🙂
Thankyou to everyone who has helped along the way with research and advice, including Mrs Rosie Bolt herself.
Next term, the Kaipātiki Local Board will look at options for the future of this neglected park, trimming back the hedge, installing signage, and solving the encroachment onto the park.
North Shore Times article from 2015:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/73092087/