The Kaipātiki Local Board has confirmed the future recreation mix at A F Thomas Park in Wairau Valley, a decision that lets council press on with flood resilience work across the Wairau catchment.

The board has backed a plan that keeps golf at the park and sets space aside for new sport and recreation facilities, while accommodating major blue‑green infrastructure. Key elements include:

• A golf offering with a minimum allocation of 18 hectares (excluding car parking and buffer zones)
• Space to enable indoor sports and events
• At least two full-size sports fields
• Safe pedestrian and cycling connections north–south and east–west
• Other park amenities such as children’s play, fitness equipment, youth recreation, dog walking and other sports
• Ongoing presence of Shore Archery Club and Sunnybrae Bowling Club within the wider park catchment

Board chair Danielle Grant said members weighed a wide range of views before landing on the priorities. “This has been a complex and at times contentious issue, and we have worked respectfully through those differences to reach this point,” she said. “The next step is developing a masterplan to work through how the priorities decided today can best be delivered on the site.”

The decision follows five weeks of public consultation in late 2025 and a series of reports provided to the board earlier this year.

Council intends to restore parts of A F Thomas Park to flood-storage wetlands and dry detention areas, which will remain usable green space when not inundated. Healthy Waters and Flood Resilience general manager Craig McIlroy said the work is the “critical first step” in the Ngā Wairau Flood Resilience project. “This project aims to significantly reduce downstream flood flows through Wairau Creek, and reduce flood risk to over 150 homes and three residential care homes in Milford,” he said. It is also intended to help protect critical infrastructure and access to North Shore Hospital, Westlake Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools, and Eventfinda Stadium.

Parks and Community Facilities general manager Taryn Crewe said the board’s decision keeps golf at the park while planning for new recreation space. “The council will work with [the board] to deliver as many of these outcomes as possible,” she said.

What was not decided today: stormwater infrastructure requirements, detailed location and design, and how the new recreational facilities will be funded. Council has no dedicated funding set aside for major new recreational facilities at the park beyond the wetland and detention works. Delivery is expected to be staged as budgets allow or alternative funding is secured.

A detailed masterplan, including designs and leasing arrangements, will now be developed to sequence the flood works alongside the recreation changes.