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Disability
Strategic Advisory Panel
18 August 2014
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Item 8 - Draft Community Facilities Network Plan
File No.: CP2014/17777
Purpose
1. To seek the Disability Strategic
Advisory Panel feedback on the draft Community Facilities Network Plan.
Executive
summary
2. The purpose
of the Community Facilities Network Plan is to guide council’s provision of
community facilities for the next 10 years and beyond. The key drivers are to:
· Optimise the use and efficiency of
existing facilities
· Address gaps and needs for community
facilities now and into the future
· Meet current and future demand arising
from population growth and changing user expectations.
3. In March 2014
the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee approved the development and scope
of the network plan (REG/2014/37) to address future provision of community
centres, venues for hire, arts and cultural facilities, aquatic and leisure
facilities.
4. A draft
Community Facilities Network Plan (network plan) has been developed (Attachment
A). There are three key components of the draft network plan:
· Strategic framework – specifies the
outcomes council is seeking from its investment in community facilities aligned
with the Auckland Plan, Local Board Plans and other strategic priorities; and
articulates the council’s key objectives for future provision.
· Provision framework – guides council’s
approach for the provision of community facilities in the future.
· Action Plan – over 50 recommended
actions to investigate areas where potential gaps in provision have been
identified and to investigate existing facilities where issues affecting their
performance have been identified.
5. Most of the
recommendations in the network plan will require detailed community or sector
based investigation to determine the appropriate response. It is proposed that
any future investment in community facilities will be determined following
detailed investigation which provides clear evidence of need, options analysis
and a robust business case.
6. The draft
network plan is an aspirational plan with actions for implementation over the
next 10 to 20 years. The ability and timeframe to implement these actions is
dependent on the decisions made by council through the Long-term Plan 2015-2025
(LTP) on the budget available for investment in community facilities.
7. Engagement
with local boards, advisory panels and key external stakeholder groups on the
draft network plan is being undertaken in August and September. Feedback will
be incorporated into the final plan which is scheduled to be reported to the
governing body by December 2014.
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Recommendation/s
That the Disability Strategic
Advisory Panel:
a) provide feedback on the draft
Community Facilities Network Plan which will guide council’s provision of
community facilities.
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Comments
8. Community
facilities contribute to building strong, healthy and vibrant communities by
providing space for people to connect with each other, socialise, learn skills
and participate in a range of social, cultural, art and recreational
activities. Community facilities contribute to improved lifestyles and a sense
of belonging, identity and pride among residents.
9. To realise
Auckland’s vision to be world’s most liveable city, the network of community
facilities will need to improve, evolve and increase to keep pace with
Auckland’s growth and diverse population. The network plan has been developed
to guide council’s provision and investment of community facilities to meet
community needs, both now and into the future.
10. The draft
network plan aligns with strategic directions and transformational shifts
outlined in the Auckland Plan, and has been informed by local board plans and
relevant strategic action plans, including the Arts and Culture Strategic
Action Plan, Sport and Recreation Strategic Action Plan, Thriving Communities
Strategy and Children and Young People’s Strategic Action Plan.
11. The scope of
the network plan includes community centres, venues for hire (community or
rural halls), arts and culture facilities, aquatic and leisure facilities. The
network includes facilities owned by council and facilities owned by
third-parties which are supported by council and are available for community
use.
12. There
is a wider picture of community facility provision which also contribute to
meeting community needs. Delivering a successful network of community
facilities will involve identifying opportunities to work across all providers,
looking for partnership opportunities and solutions to best meet community
needs. While facilities like libraries, sport clubs, community leases,
schools, churches and marae are not included in the recommendations of the
network plan, these facilities will be considered fully in the localised and
detailed assessments undertaken in the implementation of the network plan.
13. The first
stage in developing the network plan was a review of the current state to
identify what facilities we have, who uses them, how they are used, how they
are operated and key issues associated with this provision. The key findings
from the current state review are included in the draft network plan and have
informed the proposed provision frameworks and actions. The full current state
report is a companion document to the network plan and available on request.
14. Key challenges
that the network plan seeks to address are:
· There are gaps and duplication in
provision across the region which will require decisions on where new
facilities should be developed and potentially where underperforming facilities
which are no longer meeting community need could be divested or repurposed.
· Some facilities are not fit for
purpose due to the quality, design or layout.
· There are a number of aging
facilities that will require investment to remain operational or divested if
they are no longer suitable to meet community needs.
· Across the board there is a need to
improve the financial sustainability of community facilities to reduce the
overall cost of provision.
· There are a variety of other
providers of community facilities across Auckland which needs to be considered
as part of future provision.
· There is a need for thorough and
consistent planning to properly understand community needs and determine the
most appropriate response to these needs. In some cases a facility response
may be not the best solution and other options such as partnerships, programming
or marketing may achieve the desired outcomes.
· Auckland is growing and becoming
more diverse and the network of community facilities will need to be flexible
enough to respond to changing community needs.
Draft Community
Facilities Network Plan
15. The
draft network plan sets out a strategic framework for community facilities to
articulate why council invests in the provision of community facilities, the
desired outcomes from this investment and the key objectives for future
provision. The strategic framework is aligned with the Auckland Plan, local board
plans and relevant strategic action plans.
16. Proposed
common purpose for community facilities: Vibrant and welcoming places at the
heart of where and how communities connect and participate.
17. The draft
network plan sets out four proposed key objectives to guide and underpin the
future provision of community facilities:
· Undertake robust and
consistent planning to ensure future decisions on the provision of community
facilities are based on clear evidence of needs and assessment of all options.
· Maintain, improve and
make the best use out of existing community facilities where they continue to
meet community needs and investigate the future of facilities that no longer
meet community needs.
· Provide flexible and
multi-purpose facilities that are co-located and/or integrated with other
community infrastructure.
· Look for opportunities
to leverage and support partnerships.
Future Provision Framework
18. The draft
network plan proposes provision frameworks for each type of community facility
to guide council’s approach to the provision of new facilities in the future.
Community Centres
19. The proposed
provision approach for community centres is to continue to maintain and deliver
community centres at the local level across the region, recognising the
important role they play in meeting local community need for spaces to deliver
a wide range of community, recreation, learning, events, and arts and culture
activities.
20. It is proposed
community centres will serve local catchments of up to 5 km (approximately 15
minutes travel time) with a minimum population size of 20,000 residents. This
reflects the current levels of provision and is in keeping with international
benchmarks. New community centres should be sized between 600-800 metre2
to ensure they have the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of activities
and need. In rural areas, where there is lower population size, existing halls
could be activated with programming.
21. Based on this
proposed provision framework, the following potential areas of need for new
community centres have been identified for further investigation:
· Ormiston (Flatbush)
· North-West corridor
(Westgate, Massey North, Hobsonville Point)
· North Pukekohe
· Manurewa (quality and
level of existing provision is low)
· Papakura (Takanini, Hingaia)
Venues for hire
22. There
are a wide range of providers of venues for hire and many existing venues have
low utilisation and/or issues impacting on their performance. In order to
optimise the overall community facility network, it is proposed the council
does not invest in any more stand-alone venues for hire. Instead, it is
proposed that bookable space is included in flexible multi-purpose community
centres (new or existing/redeveloped), guided by community needs assessments. Other
options should be explored including partnerships or encouraging other
organisations (such as schools, sports clubs and churches) to make bookable
spaces available for community use.
23. Venues for
hire is an area of the community facility network where there is potential for
divestment or repurposing for other activities. Repurposing could include
introducing programming to create a community centre, arts and culture facility
or youth facility, converting to a community lease, or transferring the asset
to a community organisation.
Aquatic and Leisure Facilities
24. The proposed
provision framework for aquatic and leisure facilities is through a hierarchy
of local, destination and regional facilities to support participation in a
range of sport and recreation activities from casual play through to
competitive sport. The provision framework is supported by actual catchment
analysis of council’s aquatic and leisure facilities.
25. At the local
level, it is proposed facilities should serve catchments up to 5km in
distance. Potential gaps for investigation are identified in areas outside the
catchments of existing facilities, where overall participation is less than the
Auckland average and where population density meets target thresholds as
outlined in the plan. It is proposed to develop an affordable design model to
reduce the design and build costs without compromising the quality or viability
of new facilities.
26. Destination
and regional facilities will serve larger catchments 10km plus and only a limited
number of facilities are required to serve the region. These facilities should
be assessed on a case by case basis where there is clear evidence of demand.
27. Based on the
proposed provision framework the following potential areas of need for new aquatic
and leisure facilities have been identified for further investigation:
· Western corridor from Mt Albert to Glen Eden – aquatic and leisure
facility
· Ormiston (Flatbush) – aquatic and leisure facility
· North-west corridor (Westgate, Massey North, Hobsonville Point,
Kumeu) - aquatic
· Central city area – investigate partnership opportunities for
leisure facility
· Warkworth and surrounding area – aquatic and leisure facility
(noting the small population size may impact on demand and type of facility
required)
· Waiheke Island - aquatic facility (noting the small population size
may impact on the demand and type of facility required)
· Indoor court facilities across the region to provide for indoor
sports
· Regional aquatic
and indoor sport facility.
Arts and Culture Facilities
28. It is proposed
the future provision of arts and culture activity at the local level will focus
on enabling local expression through programming rather than building dedicated
arts facilities. Future provision will be included as part of flexible
multi-purpose community centres (new or existing/redeveloped) guided by
community needs assessment. Focus will be placed on integrating appropriate
space and programming within the existing network, or partnering with others to
provide suitable space.
29. For
destination and regional facilities, it proposed that council supports a
network of facilities to meet sector and audience demand. The future provision
of both destination and regional facilities should be determined by robust
investigation on a case-by-case basis. In particular, council should only intervene
when the private sector does not and opportunities for partnerships with
sector, private and government should be explored.
Action Plan and
Implementation
30. The draft network plan includes over 50 recommended
actions to undertake investigations for the future provision of community
facilities. This includes actions related to existing facilities as well as
potential new facilities.
31. All
recommended actions will require detailed community or sector based
investigation to determine the appropriate response. It is intended that any
future investment in community facilities will be determined following detailed
investigation which provides clear evidence of need, options analysis and
development of a robust business case. Detailed process guidelines to ensure a
consistent approach to these investigations have been developed (Appendix 2 of
draft network plan: Community Facilities Development Guidelines).
32. For some
existing facilities, investigation is required to understand in more detail how
the facility is operating and meeting community needs and to determine the
appropriate response. There are a variety of responses the investigation could
identify:
· Changing the way the facility is
managed or operated such as new programming, marketing or new management model.
· Identifying the facility is no
longer required for the original activity and could be re-purposed for a new
activity or function.
· Identifying the facility is no
longer required and could be divested.
· Identifying the facility needs to be
redeveloped or improved and should be considered for
investment.
33. For
potential areas for new facilities, a similar investigation process is required
to understand needs, test the feasibility of different options and assess the
business case for a facility. The outcome of this investigation may identify a
non-asset solution is required such as a partnership or supporting a
non-council facility.
34. The
actions in the draft network plan have been ranked according to the urgency of
completing the investigation, which is based on consideration of the following
factors:
· Urgency to address condition issues with existing facilities.
· Need to respond to major catalysts impacting on existing facilities.
· Opportunities for
rationalisation or partnerships.
· Identified as an
existing gap in the network.
· Timing and scale of
projected growth.
· Located in a
spatial priority area.
35. Feedback
from the governing body, local boards and stakeholders may change the ranking
of actions in the final plan. The ability and timeframe to implement the
actions is dependent on the level of budget available through the council’s
LTP.
36. As
council will not have the capacity to invest in all community facility
projects, the draft network plan also provides prioritisation criteria to
assist the governing body prioritise investment into community facilities once
the investigation process has identified the appropriate response. The
criteria will be used to assess the strategic benefits of the project, the
importance of investing in a specific area and the project outcomes.
Consideration
Local
board views and implications
37. Cluster
workshops with local boards were undertaken in March and April to provide an
overview of the network plan, present information on the current state and to
seek feedback on key components of the network plan.
38. Workshops on
the draft network plan will be undertaken with local boards and key
stakeholders in August and September.
Maori
impact statement
39. The provision
of community facilities contributes to improving wellbeing among Maori
communities by providing spaces to connect, socialise, learn skills and
participate.
40. Community
facility user surveys and catchment studies has collected a range of
information from all types of users including Maori users, which has informed
the network plan and proposed actions. The network plan has also been informed
by submissions and feedback received on the strategic action plans for
community development, arts and culture and sport and recreation. The
consultation process for these strategic action plans included a number of hui
with iwi, which has provided input on the provision of community facilities.
Implementation
41. The draft network plan is an aspirational plan for the next 10 to 20
years which outlines what needs to be investigated and undertaken to deliver a
network of community facilities to meet community needs. The ability and
timeframe to implement the actions is dependent on the level of budget
available through the council’s LTP 2015-2025.
42. Through the LTP process, the governing body will consider the amount
of funding available for investment in community facilities. To deliver the
network plan this will need to include both operational funding to undertake
the required investigation (needs assessment, feasibility and business case)
and depending on the outcome of each investigation, capital funding or
operational funding to implement the recommended response.
43. It is proposed that any capital funding for major upgrades or
building new community facilities should be held in a regional investment fund
and allocated to specific projects once a business case is approved.
44. The next steps
for the network plan are engaging with local boards, advisory panels and key
stakeholder groups (such as regional sport organisations) who have an interest
in council’s community facilities. Given the context of the network plan and
the information and feedback already received through the user surveys and
strategic action plans, it is not proposed to undertake any specific engagement
with facility users or the general public.
45. The engagement
process will be completed by October. Depending on the level of feedback to be
incorporated, the final plan will be reported to the council’s governing body
in December 2014.
Attachments
A copy of the draft Community Facilities Network Plan will be
provided to members under separate cover. It can also be found on the Auckland
Council website as an Open Attachment to the agenda of the Regional Strategy
and Policy Committee for its meeting on 7 August 2014.
Signatories
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Authors
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Anita Coy-Macken - Principal Policy Analyst – Central
David Shamy - Policy Analyst
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Authoriser
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Kevin Wright - Manager: Transport Strategy – Lead Officer Support DSAP
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