Māngere Bridge BID faces uncertain future

Some of the members of the Māngere Bridge Business Improvement District. (L-R): Marcella Howarth, Mataiasi To'ofohe, Kate Adams, Shane Howarth, Corinne Cameron, and Lieng Kong.

The organisation that's behind Māngere Bridge’s beloved Christmas parade, along with its vital CCTV network and nightly Security Patrols could be under threat.

According to Māngere Bridge Business Improvement District (BID) manager Kate Adams, her council-funded association faces an uncertain future after being told by Auckland Council they may have to be disestablished in 18 months due to not meeting new policy requirements. 

However, the council says the door remains open for the BID to find a sustainable path forward.

In 2022, Auckland Council changed its BID policy, which included new requirements for business improvement districts receiving less than $120,000 annually through targeted rates to reach that threshold in total income by July 1, 2028. The Māngere Bridge BID receives just $36,465 in targeted rate funding each year - which is short of the mark.

A float from the 2025 Christmas Parade, funded by the Māngere Bridge BID.

But Adams argues the policy is being applied unfairly. The association has consistently generated well over $120,000 in total annual income, and is projecting around $165,000 this financial year through a combination of targeted rates, grants, sponsorships, and revenue from community events such as Sunday markets and fun runs.

"We meet the criteria," Adams says. "Judge us on our history and our history is strong."

BID administrator Corinne Cameron echoes that frustration. 

"We invest over four times the value of our target rates into our Business District each year," she says, pointing to the BID's investment of roughly $170,000 into the village this year, funded largely through sources beyond the targeted rate. The BID also funds beautification projects, village management, CCTV network and nightly security patrols throughout the village.

But these services, as well as the Sunday Markets, Christmas Parade, Family Festival, Fun Run & Half Marathon and Summer Live Music Series could all cease if the BID stopped operating.

"Once you lose a BID, you're never going to get it back," Cameron says.

However, in a statement provided to 275 Times, Auckland Council's BID Team Manager Claire Gomas has clarified that there is currently no proposal to disestablish the Māngere Bridge BID, and that the policy change was designed to ensure financial sustainability, not to penalise well-performing BIDs. The council met with Māngere Bridge BID management in May 2025 to discuss funding options, including the possibility of transitioning to a charity model to access broader funding sources.

"BID-operating business associations are driven by local businesses and property owners," Gomas said, noting that BIDs are fundamentally business-focused entities. She added that the association could continue to operate independently as an incorporated society regardless of the BID programme's outcome.

With 18 months remaining before the policy deadline, Auckland councillor Alf Filipaina says he’s hopeful the Māngere Bridge BID and council's BID team can continue to work together to find a solution that works for everyone, adding that he’s also happy to support.

“If there's anything that I can do from an advocacy perspective, I'll do it,” he says. 

“I can see the benefits of the Māngere Bridge BID as they also benefit the wider Māngere community with all their events and security.”