Two Mount Albert residents are alleging Auckland Council has failed to maintain the nearby Western Springs Park. But, the council says Covid-19 lockdowns and the recent drought has held up their maintenance work.
By Mildred Armah
David Marshall, who has been a frequent user of the park for more than 40 years, says the current treatment of the park by the council has been disappointing.
Western Springs was first opened in the 1980s and serves as a community lakeside park where members of the public can visit any time to view various species of bird life.
“I think for many years the council looked after the park extremely well. The park was a beautiful place to visit and now I feel in recent years… they've let the park deteriorate and made some decisions around the park that are just not in the interest of the users of the park," Marshall says.
Marshall says one example of this is the pathways, which he thinks is a hazard to people who have a disability or are physically challenged.
“Part of the pathway was redone which leads up to one of the bridges and the pathway was made steeper, for people who are in a wheelchair or are physically challenged, it's quite difficult to carry the extra incline on the pathway so that's a concern.”
Marshall says he has also noticed the change in bird life.
“The bird life there isn't the same. There's an imbalance between the bird life and you can see it on the pond, on the springs itself. ... Clearly, they're not doing the work in terms of keeping the various species of bird life in balance.”
Marshall says he took a break from visiting the park and then revisited after a few months.
He says he was shocked by what he saw.
“I just couldn't believe how filthy the place was. The pathways are not cleaned properly so they get slimy from, I guess, bird faeces and just general rubbish. I think the place smells as well. You can sense when something isn't being looked after.”
He says he has complained to the council several times over the phone and is told the state of the park is due to poor weather and seasonal conditions.
Marshall says the council should form partnerships with local iwi who can advise them on maintaining the park.
“There are locals and people across Auckland that use the park regularly who I think would be happy to lend their expertise and their time.”
Linda Sullivan, another Mount Albert resident, says decisions have been made regarding the park without public consultation.
“Recently now they have got fencing up when people are going into public areas of the park, we'd like to know why they're doing that … and with heavy machinery that's going to be going through, why are they doing this without public consultation," she says.
Julie Pickering, Auckland Council's head of area operations for community facilities, said a statement to 1 NEWS: “Auckland Council’s Community Facilities team has scheduled work to take place at Western Springs Park in May this year to dress the topsoil and reinstate the grass. The works will extend along the pathway to remove weeds also.”
Pickering says there are multiple reasons as to why this work had not taken place earlier. These include “Covid-19 lockdowns, Auckland’s water shortages and restrictions which prohibited watering turf areas, and unfavourable weather conditions for grass growth (also as a result of the drought)".
She says fencing around the park is temporary and signage will go up advising the public of the maintenance works.
“It is a community effort to ensure the park is maintained, there are a number of things people can do to help look after the park.
"This includes not littering in the park or throwing food into the water as this decomposes and adversely affects the water quality.”
She says: “While day-to-day maintenance operations do not require iwi consultation, iwi has been consulted on this development plan as is standard practice.”
Pickering says the council will be holding a community planting day at the lake on June 12 to educate and encourage the public on how they can care for their park.
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