Enrolment Scheme Amendment Royal Oak Intermediate and New Scheme Sir Douglas Bader Intermediates

Topic of Concern

Response

1. Student pathways - Waterlea Primary School and Māngere Bridge School cohorts would be split between intermediate schools.  

Ministry Response: The reduction to Royal Oak Intermediate’s zone was proposed due to the risk of future overcrowding at the intermediate. Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate was identified as best placed to absorb the growth due to its large site and potential for expansion. Aligning Royal Oak Intermediate’s proposed southern boundary to Onehunga High School’s southern boundary seemed practical and set up a consistent secondary school pathway.

However, submissions during the consultation period drew attention to the existing relationship between Waterlea Primary School, Māngere Bridge School and Royal Oak Intermediate.

We have reinstated part of the original zone as a result of feedback, and this results in an overlap with the Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate zone to include the area of Māngere Bridge upto Ambury Road, Taylor Road and Hastie Avenue.

However, we recommend that the Favona area remains excluded from the Royal Oak Intermediate zone due to future growth pressures.

Waterlea and Māngere Bridge school’s zones will remain within the amended boundaries of Royal Oak Intermediate. This still has the impact of reducing roll pressure on Royal Oak Intermediate by removing it from the Farm Cove development area (Favona) and the majority of the Kāinga Ora – Māngere Precinct development, while allowing for a full pathway for students from primary school to intermediate.

For these reasons, the attached zone proposal for Royal Oak Intermediate has a reduced amendment area to include the entirety of the Waterlea Primary School and Māngere Bridge School enrolment schemes.

2. Te Iti Kahurangi Kāhui Ako Relationships

Ministry Response: Waterlea Primary School and Māngere Bridge School are part of the Te Iti Kahurangi Kāhui Ako. The ten schools in this Kāhui Ako are Mangere Bridge Primary School, Waterlea Primary School, Onehunga Primary School, Royal Oak Primary School, Oranga Primary School, Te Papapa Primary School, St Joseph's Primary School, Royal Oak Intermediate, Onehunga High School and Marcellin College. Feedback highlighted that Waterlea School and Māngere Bridge School students regularly participate in activities and initiatives with other schools within their Kāhui Ako. The students continue their learnings at intermediate level as they are able to carry on with these joint initiatives at Royal Oak Intermediate.  Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate on the other hand is in the Māngere Kahui Ako.

On considering all feedback, we have reinstated part of the original zone. However, the Favona area remains excluded from the Royal Oak Intermediate zone.

3. The Māngere Bridge community would be divided in two by the Royal Oak Intermediate amendment

Ministry Response: Submissions received during the consultation period indicated that the Māngere Bridge community was a very tightknit community and that the proposed Royal Oak Intermediate boundary would split the community in two. There were many submissions from community members who personally did not have children attending school but were concerned with the impact that the zoning amendment would have on the community.

The aforementioned change to the proposed Royal Oak Intermediate amendment that aligns the pathways of the Māngere Bridge and Waterlea primary schools will have the dual effect of alleviating some of the split community concerns by increasing the area of Māngere Bridge that is included in the zone.

However, the entirety of the Māngere Bridge area is unable to be included in the Royal Oak Intermediate zone. This would result in a split pathway for Mountain View School students, and it is not practical to include the entirety of the proposed Mountain View School zone within the Royal Oak Intermediate Zone due to roll pressure that would result from the inclusion of the north-western section of the Kāinga Ora – Māngere Precinct development.

4. Transport and access issues for those students traveling from Māngere Bridge to Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate School

Ministry Response: Submissions received during the consultation period highlighted that transport to Royal Oak Intermediate was easier and safer than that to Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate due to existing bus routes to Onehunga and cycling pathways under the Māngere Bridge to Onehunga. The students would not be able to cycle from Māngere Bridge to Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate as this would involve having to cross major roads and heavy traffic. Beyond existing cycle paths, there is an ongoing $38 million dollar project to replace the old Māngere Bridge with a new pedestrian/cycling bridge. Additionally, the development of 300 houses along Bader Drive would cause traffic congestion from Māngere Bridge to Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate.

These factors, coupled with many respondents that said that they drop their children off at Royal Oak while on the way to jobs in the Auckland City Centre, point to a level of connectivity across the Māngere Bridge higher than what the geography would suggest. This connectivity between Māngere Bridge and Onehunga further adds to the reasoning behind the altered reduced Royal Oak Intermediate amendment.