28 October, 2021

Castor Bay residents irked by trees and footpaths

Castor Bay residents are fed up with their suburb’s broken footpaths and overgrown pohutukawa trees.

The Castor Bay Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Associations’s frustrations about these and other issues were raised by Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member George Wood at the board’s last meeting.

“It’s an appalling situation that those footpaths are like they are,” Wood said. “Auckland Transport haven’t come to the party.

“I certainly believe that other suburbs are getting a far better deal than Castor Bay.”

The pedestrian crossing at the corner of Beach Rd and Castor Bay Rd was another concern, he said.

Board member Jan O’Connor said she did not think the footpaths had been much changed in Castor Bay since the 1950s.

A walk along Beach Rd reveals multiple cracks and several uneven spots.

Chair Ruth Jackson suggested the board lobby Auckland Transport about the crossing and footpath safety in the area.

Another local issue was pohutukawa trees blocking people’s views and a slip on the Kennedy Park clifftop, said Wood.

The slip had been there since 2017. It slip was now about 40 metres down the cliff face. “Community Facilities are of the view that the pohutukawa trees sitting behind are probably enough to keep them safe for the present time.”

During the America’s Cup racing early this year, a resident asked why the council had left the pohutukawa trees to grow so views out to the Hauraki Gulf were lost. Wood had been told pohutukawa were sacrosanct in that area and staff wouldn’t be touching them.

Senior board adviser Tristan Coulson said pohutukawa and their roots were anchors for the coastline, and staff were hesitant to undertake any maintenance or pruning to improve people’s views.

O’Connor: “They have been talking about those trees ever since they were planted 25 years ago.”

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