The Influencers: Dr Megan Woods

It was a pleasure to announce in early February the transitional use of several Crown-owned properties in Sumner for a new permanent skate park and the creation of a community green space.

Sumner residents have long been calling for a permanent skate park and new greenspace and it’s great that we can now make that a reality. Up until recently, there has been a temporary skate park that was run by the local community as part of their community-led earthquake recovery.

The Crown has been working closely with local authorities, community groups and individuals to bring life and community back to the residential red zone areas by activating Transitional Land Use (TLU) projects. We’ve granted key red zone land in Sumner as part of an interim arrangement while we finalise the transfer of that from the Crown to the Council.

This will create an acoustic buffer for neighbours and create a new gathering spot in the heart of the village. It also means there are some fantastic new community facilities for Sumner. The Community Board recently approved the proposal for a new concrete skate park and Land Information New Zealand, which manages the red zone properties in the Port Hills, has been working closely with the Council’s project team to make this happen. It was exciting to see such positive responses from the local community and I’m looking forward to seeing it get up and running.