Update: June 2019

Kia ora koutou!

It's been 4 months since we were last in touch, and given we had mentioned approval process time frames (one of which we are already beyond!) we figured you may be curious to know where things are at and how the process is tracking!

Positive Progress (albeit still slowly!)
We are very pleased to report that we met with 5 Council staff on site a couple of weeks ago, joined also by Fran Paniora of Westlake Forrest Hill Kindergarten. This was an exciting step in the journey as it affirmed that the initiative is being really well considered and we are very much still on their radar, and on track. It was great to be able to ask and answer questions there and then and the land use advisors themselves appeared to be very encouraging of the proposal.
Process and next steps
We are still in the midst of the assessment stage. This means: - specialists are gathering more information
- a report will be prepared and presented to the Local Board
- hopefully the Local Board will approve the proposal in principle
- the council may undertake public consultation

Potential spanners
Local Elections coming up in October mean that proposals such as our go on the back burner until the new year unless approval is given before August.
Needless to say we have emphasised how much we would love to get the garden going come spring so are all fingers and toes crossed that we might be able to get a provisional tick from the local board before that deadline if at all possible.

Small wins along the way
Just today I was at Kings Garden Centre and chatting with one of the managers she shared that Yates give free seeds to community gardens and Zealandia who are one of the main suppliers of seedlings to garden centres give free seedlings also. I know these opportunities are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of utilising community resources. I am excited to discover the many more! If you know of any opportunities of support do get in touch and let us know.

Phoebe

(Forrest Hill Community Garden team)