Churton Park, New Zealand
| Churton Park | |
|---|---|
 Churton Park
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| Basic information | |
| Local authority | Wellington City |
| Electoral ward | Northern Ward |
| Coordinates | 41°12′30″S 174°48′29″E / 41.208355°S 174.80819°ECoordinates: 41°12′30″S 174°48′29″E / 41.208355°S 174.80819°E |
| Population | 5,862(2006) |
| Surrounds | |
| North | Tawa |
| East | Grenada Village |
| South | Johnsonville |
| West | Ohariu |
Churton Park is a suburb 1.5 km north of Johnsonville in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It was established in the 1970s, and as of 2009[update] had a population of 6,260. In the 2013 census, the population of Churton Park and the adjacent community of Glenside was 6528, with 2349 dwellings. The suburb includes over 2300 households, Churton Park Reserve which includes a recreational sports field, two primary schools and a kindergarten. The Churton Park Community Centre, which is managed and staffed by Wellington City Council, is also located in the Village.
Churton Park is one of the youngest suburbs in Wellington and was farmland until 1970. In the 1850s Thomas Drake was running 200 sheep in what is now Churton Park.
The area of Churton Park near current Lakewood Avenue was originally a swamp and has been recently developed into residential housing and a commercial shopping centre. Since being established, it is one of the fasted growing subdivisions in Wellington, with the population expected to grow to over 12,000 over the next two decades.
The topography is quite hilly and has regenerating bush in some areas that has not been excavated for housing sub-divisions. Steep hills extend west over to Ohariu Valley. Extensive cut and fill earthworks have been required in the construction of the subdivisions for housing.
The micro-climate is only slightly different from that of Johnsonville, but is warmer and less windy than Wellington due to its being sheltered the southerly wind from Cook Strait. It rarely snows, but during winter 2011 snowfalls briefly shut down buses and closed roads, causing some students and workers to stay home for a few days.
Churton Park is within the enrollment zones for Onslow College, Newlands College, St Oran's College, Raroa Normal Intermediate Amesbury School, and Churton Park School.
Churton Park has two state primary schools that cater for pupils up to Year 6. Churton Park School on Churton Drive is an established school, and the roll has rapidly increased over the years. To accommodate these increases, there were many renovations to the buildings between 1997 and 2007. In 2006, to help manage roll growth, the School Board proposed an amendment to the zoning policy/area. This was heatedly debated in the community as the proposal would have removed several long-standing streets from the Zone. The associated community concern, protest action and lobbying by the Campaign for Local Schooling and parent feedback resulted in the announcement by the Ministry of Education in 2007 that a new, larger, school site would be developed in the area. On 17 March 2009, Minister of Education Anne Tolley announced that a second primary school would be built in the area instead.
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