You have selected Council news from 4 October 2009.

Council offers faster checking of building consents
Those in the process of obtaining building consents can now check the progress and status from the comfort of their own home, thanks to a new council online building consents tool.

Five designs chosen for wharf
Five finalists have now been selected out of an impressive 237 entries, as the Queens Wharf Opening the Red Gates design competition enters its exciting second stage.

Grafton Bridge to reopen
A special civic ceremony to mark the reopening of the historic Grafton Bridge and completion of the Central Connector project will be taking place at 11am today, 4 October.

Draft liquor licensing policy update
Auckland City Council's draft liquor licensing policy will be considered by the City Development Committee on Thursday, 8 October.

Council awards $100,000 in heritage grants
With Auckland Heritage Festival finishing today, 4 October, the successful applicants for the 2009 natural and cultural heritage grants were officially announced at a special ceremony at Motat.

When is your grass verge being mowed? Check online!
As summer approaches and grass verges across the city flourish, the council has launched a new service for residents.

Orakei meeting
The Orakei Point (Orakei peninsula development) master plan and traffic peer review report will be presented to a public meeting hosted tomorrow (5 October) at 6.30pm, at Jubilee Hall, Parnell Community Centre, 545 Parnell Road.

Calling all event organisers
To ensure Auckland remains a leading edge events city, each year Auckland City Council sponsors a number of local events.

Library essay competition
Some of Auckland's best young writers were commended recently as part of the Auckland City Libraries' Our stories: Auckland Secondary Schools' essay writing competition.

Zoo thanks Aucklanders
Six weeks since the passing of elephant Kashin, Auckland Zoo's remaining elephant is coping well without her long-time companion, thanks to her keepers and the support of the public.

News in brief: Samoa earthquake
As City Scene went to print, Samoa had just encountered an earthquake.

News in brief: Disability report
A report providing evidence about the key issues, needs and aspirations of 77,000 disabled people in Auckland city was released recently.

News in brief: Achilles Point
Work on upgrading Achilles Point in St Heliers will start this month and be completed by December.