Plans for Takapuna’s A F Thomas Park, a key flood protection site in the Wairau catchment, are now under review after public consultation closed on Sunday, November 23.

From 20 October to 23 November 2025, Auckland Council asked residents how the 44-hectare park should balance flood storage, public golf and wider recreation.

The project team will now present the results to the Kaipātiki Local Board, which is expected to decide on the park’s future in early 2026.

The park is named after Arthur Frederick Thomas, who served as mayor of Takapuna from 1965 to 1986.

In the late 1960s he led opposition to plans to redevelop the municipal golf course beside the Northern Motorway into a regional centre.

In recognition of his role in keeping the land as public open space, the course was officially renamed A F Thomas Park in 1971.

Today the park sits in one of the areas hardest hit by the 2023 Anniversary floods and has been identified as critical stormwater storage.

It is intended to anchor a wider “blue-green” network of wetlands, streams and parks that reduce flood risk while creating new public spaces.

Residents were asked to comment on options ranging from keeping an 18-hole public course with upgrades to shifting land into walking and cycling tracks, sports fields, playgrounds and event areas.

For people on the Hibiscus Coast who travel to the North Shore for work, hospital visits or sport, the final call will affect both future flood resilience and where they might spend their leisure time.

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