Parklands swept away

Manurewa residents are concerned at losing not one, but two reserves. Hayley Hannan
takes a walk in the parks to find out what's happening.

Stretching along the coast of Manukau Harbour is more than 200ha of farmland. Cows and sheep graze on its grassy mounds. Puhinui Reserve is a largely untouched green gem in the suburban sprawl of South Auckland.
"We used to sneak down there to swim as kids," says Dene Andre, nodding at the spindly strip of coastline below. "We weren't meant to, but we did it anyway."
Mr Andre has lived in Manurewa for more than 50 years, the third generation of his family to do so. Over the years he's grown tired of watching public reserves disappear.
"That's one of the problems with the city. People look at bare land and think, 'What can we build there?'. They don't recognise the natural value."
NZ Sporthorse, Eventing Auckland and Showjumping Auckland jointly propose to build a world-class equestrian centre on Puhinui land at which to hold multidiscipline events simultaneously, something that no other equestrian facility in New Zealand can offer.
On the adjacent Colin Dale Park, earthworks are under way to turn the reserve into a 57ha motorsport venue with a speedway and areas for go-karts, off-road racing, radio-controlled cars, blo-karts, BMX and jet-sprint boats.
Mr Andre - also chairman of the South Auckland Branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society- says the developments threaten two of the only remaining reserves of significance and value. "There are rare birds here the council has worked to protect. And the creek is being planted to become part of a wildlife pathway."
The roads cannot support an influx of traffic from the speedway and the equestrian centre, he says. "Auckland already has a number of priorities and we can't even meet those."
Carol Bozich agrees. She looks at hordes of schoolchildren boarding buses after a school athletics meeting.
"This is the sort of thing about being a passive reserve - Puhinui can be used by a community," she says. "I'm not against a speedway and I'm not against an equestrian centre. There's just a place for everything."
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman shares the residents' concerns, and formally supports them. He says he'll raise the matter with the new Auckland Council.
Advocates of the equestrian park see the new centre as an opportunity to boost New Zealand's international profile. "There are not enough facilities and there are not enough events in New Zealand," says Astrid Lambert.
The NZ Sporthorse board member stresses equestrian centre plans are still in their infancy; the group has yet to finish feasibility studies before presenting its scheme to Auckland Council in November.
The next stage will be to raise money, go through public consultation and a potential rezoning of the reserve land.
The group's plan is to work with the local iwi, Ngati Tiata, Auckland Council and local groups to protect the area's wildlife.
"We would be working closely to make sure the ecological and spiritual parts of the park are looked after. [Puhinui] is a really special place."
However, it seems the racing facilities are a done deal. Manukau council's group manager of parks, Johan Ferreira, says earthworks have begun at Colin Dale for motorsport facilities.
He confirms that Puhinui reserve is "one of the larger parks. It's a good location [for an equestrian park] from a regional perspective."
Pace of change
Colin Dale Park will become a regional hub for motorsport. The 57ha venue is designed to host a speedway, go-karts, off-road racing, blokarts, radio-controlled cars, BMX and jet-sprint boats. While the council is in charge of earth-works for the site, Mt Wellington Kart Club and Papakura BMX Club have signed on to build facilities for their sports.