The future parks and recreation outcomes for inclusion in A F Thomas Park in Wairau Valley have been decided.
Today, the Kaipātiki Local Board voted for space in the park to be used for a mix of golf, sports fields and space to enable indoor sports and events, including:
- The provision of a golf offering that is affordable, accessible and commercially sustainable with an allocation of a minimum of 18 hectares, excluding car parking and buffer zones
- Space to enable indoor sports events
- A minimum of two full-size sports fields
- Safe pedestrian and cycling connections both north/south and east/west
- Other parks and recreation service outcomes such as children’s play, exercise and fitness equipment, youth recreation, dog walking and other sports offerings
- The continued presence of Shore Archery Club and Sunnybrae Bowling Club in the wider park catchment.
Danielle Grant, Chair of the Kaipātaki Local board, says the decision is a win for the local community.
“This has been a significant and once-in-a-generation decision for Kaipātiki. Local board members have invested many hours reviewing information, attending site visits, engaging with the community and listening to a wide range of views.
“This has been a complex and at times contentious issue, and we have worked respectfully through those differences to reach this point. We understand the importance of getting this right.
“We have adopted high-level priorities that reflect future sport, recreation and environmental needs for our community. This includes planning infrastructure carefully so that when work is carried out, it can be done efficiently and avoid the need for repeated disruption in the future.”
“The next step is developing a masterplan to work through how the priorities decided today can best be delivered on the site.
“We would also like to acknowledge and thank council staff, stakeholders and community members for their time, expertise and commitment throughout this process.”
In late 2025, the Kaipātiki Local Board ran five weeks of public consultation to hear from the community what recreational activities they would like A F Thomas Park to be used for into the future.
Following public submissions, a consultation report, deliberative forum report and several technical reports were presented to the Kaipātiki Local Board in early 2026 to support their decision-making.
Today’s decision on recreational use for the park sits within a larger plan to mitigate the risk of flooding in the area.
Taryn Crewe, General Manager of Parks and Community Facilities says the decision will give the local community new opportunities to connect and be active.
“The local board’s decision is the first step for keeping golf at the park and planning and implementing new space for a range of park, sport and recreation offerings for locals and Aucklanders to use and enjoy.
“The board prioritised a list of parks and recreation outcomes to be achieved. The council will work with them to deliver as many of these outcomes as possible.
“Once complete, A F Thomas Park will be an even more valuable asset for the community.”
Auckland Council will restore part of A F Thomas Park to flood storage wetland and dry water detention areas, while keeping the green space available to all Aucklanders to use when the park is not flooded.
Once completed, this comprehensive flood resilience (blue-green) network will significantly reduce flood risks across the Wairau catchment.
This decision sets strategic direction for future development and allows the Ngā Wairau Flood Resilience project to move forward in a timely manner.
Craig Mcilroy, General Manager for Healthy Waters and Flood Resilience says it is crucial that progress with the transformation of A F Thomas Park continues to maintain momentum as there is a clear desire from the community to move swiftly to reduce flood risk to nearby areas.
“This project aims to significantly reduce downstream flood flows through Wairau Creek, and reduce flood risk to over 150 homes and three residential care homes in Milford. It will also protect critical infrastructure and access to key facilities such as North Shore Hospital and Westlake Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools, as well as Eventfinda Stadium.
“The work in A F Thomas Park is a critical first step to reduce the significant flood risk across the Wairau catchment and will enable wider flood resilience works in and around Nile Road, and the commercial areas of Wairau Valley.”
It is important to note the elements that remain out of the scope of today’s decision, these include stormwater infrastructure requirements, details around location and design and funding sources. Today’s decision only sought to define the future park and recreation outcomes for inclusion in the park.
Next steps
The local board’s decision today (25 March) establishes what should be provided for at A F Thomas Park. How and when it gets delivered will be determined through subsequent processes.
Following today’s decision work will begin to develop a detailed master plan for the park, that will include detailed designs and leasing arrangements.
Because this project was made necessary by urgent flood resilience needs, there is no dedicated council funding set aside for major new recreational facilities beyond the wetland and detention basin.
To deliver the new recreational infrastructure at the park there is a need to plan for funding through future budgets or explore alternative funding options. Delivery is likely to be staged over time as funding becomes available.
Motion as tabled and carried at the Kaipatiki Local Board Extraordinary Meet – Wednesday 25 March 2026That the Kaipātiki Local Board: a. whiwhi / receive the updated tabled Public Consultation Summary Report for AF Thomas Park and thank the 5429 individual submitters and 35 organisations, noting the significant opportunity this presents for the wider community and the complexity of the situation b. whiwhi / receive the Deliberative Forum report for AF Thomas Park, noting the majority recommendations and thank everyone for their involvement c. tāpae / delegate authority to the chair and deputy chair to provide commentary back to forum members explaining how their inputs were considered and where they were included or not included d. tuhi tīpoka / note the tabled feedback from Devonport-Takapuna Local Board e. whai / adopt climate adaptive parks and recreation service outcomes for AF Thomas Park in the following priority order: i. the provision of a golf offering that is affordable, accessible and commercially sustainable with an allocation of a minimum of 18 hectares, excluding car parking and buffer zones
f. tono / request Healthy Waters incorporate nature play and seating into the wetland design g. tautoko / support the implementation of universal design wherever possible to ensure access for all h. tono / request opportunities are maximised within AF Thomas Park to enhance biodiversity and increase canopy cover i. whakaae / approve in principle the allocation of up to $50,000 from FY26/27 Kaipātiki Local Board budget to deliver the development of a master plan for AF Thomas Park and the Kaipātiki Local Board’s priority recreation outcomes j. tono / request strongly that the masterplan is delivered to avoid additional costs resulting from the inability to undertake a dig once approach k. tono / request that the master planning includes the provision of adequate car parking to support the operation of golf and other recreational outcomes. l. tono / request that the master planning includes the provision of required ancillary facilities to support sport and recreation outcomes m. tono / request that any future established buffer zone be considered as part of any lease negotiations n. tono / request that staff utilise the wealth of insights and needs identified through the AF Thomas Park Future Recreation AK Have Your Say consultation, Regional Organisations and Interest Group (ROIG) meetings and Deliberative Forum discussions, alongside the Golf Needs Analysis, Sport and Recreation Strategic Assessment and Open Space Parks Service Provision Assessment to inform the development of AF Thomas Park where possible o. tono / request that a working group with council, Kaipātiki Local Board, North Shore Events Centre Trust and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited is urgently established to inform future decisions on Eventfinda Stadium p. tono / request that the Governing Body consider the significant financial impact on the Kaipātiki Local Board opex budget resulting from the lost lease revenue throughout the construction period of Nga Wairau Stage one and request that the forecasted revenue expectation in the local board budget is removed q. tautoko / advocate to the Governing Body for funding to be allocated for the future development of AF Thomas Park in the Long-term Plan 2027-2037 process r. tautoko / advocate to NZTA and Auckland Transport the delivery of a future pedestrian/cycling overbridge connection between Smales Farm and AF Thomas to maximise accessibility to the AF Thomas Park and Eventfinda Stadium s. tono / request that the future naming of AF Thomas Park is considered as part of the next tranche of Te Kete Rukuruku t. tautoko / support mana whenua engagement as part of the masterplan process to embed cultural identity, values and aspirations u. tono / request staff to consult the Kaipātiki Local Board frequently during the masterplan development process to ensure local board priorities and directions are being enacted, noting that the Kaipātiki Local Board has full decision-making over the masterplan of AF Thomas Park. |