Mangawhai St John gets green light

 

After more than three years of meetings, lobbying and community consultation, Mangawhai St John has finally been given the go-ahead from Kaipara District Council to build new premises on a site just east of the Mangawhai Activity Zone within Mangawhai Park on Molesworth Drive.

Initial sites were deemed unsuitable, prompting the formation of a steering committee headed by Jim Wintle and in 2012 efforts began in earnest to find a central site to relocate the essential emergency service that has, until now, been sharing volunteer fire brigade facilities.

Two weeks ago council approved the application for a licence to occupy the designated area for an initial 33-year term at a peppercorn rental.

Council has given a provisionional thumbs-up for construction to begin while finer details and planning are finalised through the consent process.

A large proportion of the building funds have already been raised through the Mangawhai Op Shop, with total projected costs around $850,000.
The new facility will provide space for two ambulances plus two-bedroom overnight accommodation for on-duty officers, allow the best equipment available, and future-proof the service for years to come.

While the station will still be manned by volunteers it is hoped the new and improved station will attract more people willing to serve the community.

Mangawhai St John station manager Martin Davies is pleased the first major hurdle has been cleared and looks forward to further progress.
“We have had huge support from the community including some significant donations and it’s good to have something concrete both for us and them to look forward to, even though we still have a lot of work to do,” he told the Focus.

There will still be further community input as plans move towards completion.