When the new Devonport-Takapuna Local Board was sworn in at The PumpHouse on 4 November, it comprised a mix of conservative and progressive members, representatives of both main groupings that had put forward a team for election, and independents. It included two newbies to local politics, one of whom was subsequently chosen as deputy chair. Christine Young spoke to the new deputy chair, Scott Macarthur, town planner turned politician, to get his perspective on his move into local body politics and on how he and his fellow board members will face the next three years.
On the new board alongside Scott are veteran politician George Wood, Gavin Busch (first elected in 2022), Terence Harpur (also back for a second term), Trish Deans (previously on the local board from 2019-2022, and a long-time community advocate), and independent and political newcomer Garth Ellingham. It could be a recipe for the kind of infighting the board experienced a while back, with all political views and factions vying for their perspective to take precedence.
More likely, according to Scott, despite some reported infighting over the selection of chair and deputy chair, it is a board open to working together, to debating issues, and coming to a consensus on what they want – and what it is possible for – the board to achieve.
Scott brings with him nearly 20 years’ experience as a town planner, most recently with his company Urban Planning Consultants. He has worked in roles including resource consents and compliance for Council, transport planning roles for Auckland Transport, and as a team leader in the resource consents department. He has also worked as a planning consultant both early in his career and at present. Pre-election, he said he would bring his “particular and very relevant skill set... to the table. I will invest my time in improving our city, whether that is better urban design, more effective public transport or better planned and upgraded parks and coastal boardwalks.”
Scott is pleased to have emerged with the deputy chair position, if for no other reason than financial considerations, as he expects that some of his consultancy contracts with Auckland Council will no longer be possible because of conflicts of interest. He and Trish Deans will share the chair and deputy roles, with Trish bringing her previous experience to bear as chair in the first half of the political term. Scott will use that time to get fully to grips not only with local issues, but also with the various pieces of legislation that impact local body politics. Scott believes Trish is well-suited to the chair’s role and that “we can all work well together. There are no tensions, and we can all work through issues collectively.”
With the first local board meeting post-election focusing on budget issues, Scott believes the biggest challenge facing the board is that ”a lot of the information we receive from Council staff is quite opaque, with not a lot of detail, for example, on budget. We want to get more details.”
He recognises the tension between local decision-making and the “straitjacket of policies” as well as between regional and local priorities, but also comments that while Council wants to empower local boards, little has been delegated to date. He cites as an example the Devonport Claystore – an asset with no budget, that is also designated as a heritage building that needs to be maintained.
He also cites local issues such as traffic on Northboro Road, about which he says he has “bombarded” Auckland Transport (AT). He’s gratified that AT has acknowledged his concerns and has said they are looking into it. But in this, as in other issues, he says, “We want progress and action.”
Pre-election, Scott was bold in his ambitions for the Devonport-Takapuna area and for Auckland as a whole, stating that Council needs “to do better in managing the man-made city. That means better architecture, a more balanced approach to transport and investment in beautifying parks and town centres.” He says that over his years running his own planning consultancy, he’s noticed a shift from developers buying a site they want to develop and getting an architect involved, to development now being more driven by developers without any input from an architect. “Unfortunately, over time, the architects are gone… and the results are challenging.” He’s referring to some of the poorer quality, high-density developments not just in the local board area but across Auckland. “Development should be adding to the community, rather than detracting from it,” he says, commenting that the “rules-based, technocratic” approach of the Resource Management Act further exacerbates this trend.
As a local board member, he knows his influence may be limited, but he is determined he’ll make the most of his opportunity to advocate for the improvements he’d like to see. He says the DTLB is united in its efforts around advocacy for the area in the consultation currently underway regarding intensification and Plan Change 120. “We want developments to go to an urban design panel for approval,” he says. He adds that prior to his election, he attended meetings where the Council planning team presented to the local board and asked for feedback. Despite the previous board providing that, none of their feedback was included in the final consultation document. As an independent town planner, he says he finds that “frustrating.”
He knows “we don’t have decision-making power” in regard to overall city planning, but is keen to make to most of the relationships the board has with Councillors Richard Hills and John Gillon, and that they can build with Council officers.
On a local scale, Scott has a few targets in his sights. He’s keen to see a complete, quality, cycle path along the south-western coast from Devonport to Akoranga Drive. At present, as he points out, there is “no consistency”, with the cycle path disappearing entirely in some places and changing from gravel to an unworkable, narrow, concrete shared space for cyclists and pedestrians in Plymouth Reserve in Bayswater. He suggests the board could start small, at the southern end, and allocate budget to start to link up sections of the shared path in a meaningful way. And while there is no budget for the much-longed-for bridge from the bottom of Francis Street to Esmonde Road, he suggests that, as Watercare is planning a “massive watermain project,” that could disrupt parts of Lake Road over the next few years, perhaps they could consider building the bridge to carry the water main, rather than impacting on the already stressed main road.
Similarly, on a think-small scale, while the local board cannot impact materially on the 10-15 minute frequency he desires for public transport, the local board could help make bus travel more appealing by using some of its budget for bus shelters at every bus stop. And as for beautification, he’s an advocate of more trees – natives, or flowering – enhancing streets and parks. Watch this space.
Scott Macarthur is looking for action and is prepared to speak out for the things he believes are important to the area and to the city. He’s grateful to everyone who voted for him, and thinks that his election might have been due in no small part to his town planning background and practical and pragmatic approach. “I was willing to stick my neck out and say what I want to do.” He notes that Garth Ellingham, who is also new to the board, and Mike Single, who missed out as the seventh highest polling candidate, are both engineers, with equally pragmatic perspectives.
He realises he has a lot to learn but says he and political running mate Terence Harpur “don’t want to say no to everything.” That approach might risk saying yes to too much, he concedes – but for Scott, one senses that would be preferable to the negative or conservative alternative.
