VIEWS FROM THE BEACH with Peter White

Exciting times ahead for our area

An overview of what is happening in Takapuna Beach from Business Association General Manager – Peter White.

Residents of the North Shore are fortunate to have such a strong hospitality and entertainment cluster in Takapuna Beach giving us a variety of dining options close to home.

My wife Jayne, and I, have been enjoying visiting some of the new restaurants (Al Forno and Marvel Bar and Grill) that have opened in Takapuna Beach recently and are looking forward to eating soon at Pinot Plus Great Food which is also new to the Takapuna Strip. We received an invite to the opening function of the Hurstmere Rd Macs Brew Bar in early August and believe that this bar will be the catalyst to attract a different clientele to Takapuna. R’Toto served Takapuna Beach well, however the six Macs Bar’s throughout the rest of the Country have been extremely popular with the more sophisticated 25 year-old plus demographic.

It is also great to have cafes of the quality of Latin Larder – which is profiled in this issue of Channel – in Takapuna. There is no shortage of quality places to get at lovely breakfast or lunch, or to just stop and have a tea or coffee.

Other new businesses to the town centre are the popular Wildwheat (specialist breads) and specialist hair colours salon - Hue.

Many Takapuna residents will be excited to hear of the opening soon of Bian Sushi in Hurstmere Green next door to the ever popular Jam Organic Café, saving them a trip to Bian in Symonds St to buy their Sushi.

The All Black Test match versus South Africa was a cracker. Jayne and I called into Takapuna early and had a meal then caught the bus to Eden Park. 22 minutes after boarding the bus we were dropped off inside the stadium – no queues of traffic to contend with, no hassles with parking and no long walk from our car to the park. As already mentioned the AB’s played some spectacular footie and by 9.45pm we were back in Takapuna Beach toasting the All Black win.

It is hoped that ARTA will provide integrated ticketing (free bus travel) from Takapuna to all major events in future, and already have agreed to do so for the Rugby League double header (Kiwis v Kangaroos, and England v Papua New Guinea) at the newly redeveloped Eden Park on November 6th. (Watch out for some fantastic packages around this event from our local bars and restaurants).

The Mayoral race for the Super City is starting to heat up. Manukau Mayor Len Brown spoke recently in Takapuna Beach, at a Two Degree meeting hosted by Bayleys Commercial North Shore. Auckland Mayor John Banks addresses our August Two Degree meeting hosted by Westpac Bank and North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams will speak to the September meeting. We look forward to hearing the vision, policies and promises made by each before voting on October 9th.

I hope that you enjoy your read of Channel. We have had some marvelous feedback from locals and are aware that copies dropped to local cafes soon disappear – always a good sign of a good read.

Art Gallery for Takapuna Beach

The Auckland Transition Agencies decision to reject North Shore City Council’s request to apply funding from the sale of the North Shore Holdings land in Albany, to assist The Shore Exhibition Trust’s quest to establish an art gallery in the former Takapuna Library building (2 The Strand), is a setback for the organisation.

This has not deterred their enthusiasm, however. North Shore City has provided over $300,000 in grants and planning costs towards the project and the Trust, led by former Auckland War Memorial Museum Director, Dr Rodney Wilson, is confident that the Art Gallery will open. The Takapuna Beach Business Association believe an art gallery would be a welcome addition to the town centre, providing residents of the North Shore an opportunity to appreciate a variety of artworks, including an impressive early New Zealand collection gifted to the city by an anonymous benefactor (on the proviso that a suitable permanent home will be found for them).

It is understood that the Auckland City Art Gallery has many fine pieces of work that are kept in storage and never seen by the public. The establishment of a gallery in Takapuna would enable some of this work to be displayed and collections rotated amongst other smaller galleries in Manukau and Waitakere.

The library building was intended as a building for public use and as a cultural asset, and land and money were gifted with that intent. Although it is no longer feasible to use the building as the main public library, an Art Gallery would be consistent with these ideals.

North Shore City has included funding in this year’s Annual Plan (its last) and The Shore Exhibition Trust is exploring other funding options.

For further information contact Mary Borok, Divisional Administrator, Community Services/Project Administrator, Shore Exhibition Centre 486 8600 ext 7155 (Mary.Borok@northshorecity.govt.nz)

The Takapuna Strip – 400 metres of fabulous entertainment

Takapuna Beach is often described as New Zealand’s best and most popular urban beach. The thriving beachside town centre is also quickly establishing a reputation as providing North Shore and Auckland residents with one of the best dining options in the region.

With 13 bars, 31 cafes, 33 restaurants and 23 QSR’s (Quick Service Restaurants), diners are spoilt for choice; Think of a cusine and you will find it – from Indian, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Chinese, French, Italian, Turkish and Middle Eastern to Mongolian and Brazilian barbecue, pub grub, pizza, food court, burger, fish’n’chips, lazy lunch and fine dining - Takapuna Beach caters for all.

The Takapuna Strip (a 400m section of Hurstmere Rd and Anzac St) is the heart of the entertainment precinct. In addition to well recognised establishments such as GPK, Portofino, Daikoku and Aubergine, diners have the chance to discover new food spots such as Goode Brothers or the ever popular Botticielli.

The Takapuna Strip has long been regarded as the night capital of the Shore, coming alive on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights as locals patronise the night clubs and bars including The Grange, Belgian Beer Café, Copper Room and Sin Bin. A favourite option for many is to dine in the Takapuna Strip before heading to the Bruce Mason Centre to watch one of the many fine shows on offer. Car parking is not a problem with many free and low priced options close by.

For those wanting a more leisurely evening there’s always the blockbuster movies on offer at the Hoyts Theatre followed by a quick bite at Pita Pit, Burger Fuel or why not grab a pizza from Nikko’s and wander down to New Zealand’s most popular urban beach – Takapuna Beach.

Car Parking made easy

Shoppers and visitors to Takapuna Beach are well served with over 3700 public car parks available for those travelling by car.

2650 of these parks are free of charge for at least 30 minutes – all car parks in Hurstmere Rd from Halls Corner to Anzac St offer 30 minutes free parking, 60 minutes free parking is available under the library in The Strand, Westfield Shore City offers over 850 spaces (free for the first three hours), and the North Shore City Council operates two car parking areas in Anzac Street (237 spaces), and at Killarney Street (374 spaces) which is next to the Bruce Mason Centre. During weekdays, the first two hours of parking is free at these two carparks. (Although if you stay longer, for example four hours, you will need to pay for the entire four hours) The hourly rate at Killarney Street is $1 and $1.50 at Anzac Street. Parking is also free at both of these carparks between 8pm to 6am weekdays and all day on weekends and public holidays. The Anzac St Carpark which runs parallel to Hurstmere Rd and alongside Lake Rd offers easy and quick access to most of Takapuna.

Hours for pay and display parking are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday. Parking costs $1 per hour, with a minimum payment of 50 cents, although 30 minute free parking is available in many of the sides streets (Anzac, Como, Northcroft, Byron and the likes).

Takapuna Beach Business Association.

Ph: 489 1003

www.takapunabeach.co.nz