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....