Posted
30th July 2001
Gardeners Are Winners
A huge thankyou to all supporters of Central Auckland's
St Benedict's Community Gardens, specifically, Keith, Nandor,
Catherine Delahunty, Hanafiah Blackmore, Joel Cayford and friends
such as Maire Leadbeater and Brendan Hoare, because..... We
WON... a reprieve. Last week the rightful authority: Parks and
Recreation Committee, voted unanimously to postpone the eviction
of the gardens 10 months.
The
debate lasted 1.5 hours, and many things were said, but particular
support was evident from Maire, who sits on the committee, as
well as Chairman Bill Christian, along with very positive comments
from observer Bruce Hucker, who is an overt supporter of the
gardens.
So
we have the result we were seeking, a 10 month postponement
of the eviction. It was not the appropriate time to ask for
a permanent lease from council, as new community gardens policy
is pending, as followers of this issue are aware. So we will
be asking for a permanent lease in approximately 8 months when
that policy is adopted. We are 95% certain that the policy will
support community gardens, so we are counting on that to be
our main claim to a permanent lease.
In the mean time we will be reducing the gardens size and further
improving maintenance of the smaller gardens, making them more
demonstrative. So thanks again, and those who wish to get their
fingers in the dirt, our Sunday working bees will be a lot more
enthusiastic from now on! James Redwood....
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