Source: Radio New Zealand
Auckland is left wondering about the future of housing intensification plans after another potential u-turn in rules from central government. RNZ/Calvin Samuel
Government interference in planning rules for Auckland housing has reached new heights with another u-turn frustrating the council
Sandringham residents Kristin De Monchy and Philip Bradley are walking around sodden, empty sections in their neighbourhood, wondering if the next homes to be built here will be swept away – again.
De Monchy’s home flooded in the 2023 anniversary weekend storms, and the impact on the suburb was severe. Since then both have been active trying to get better infrastructure in place so it doesn’t happen again.
“We made it clear right from the outset that this wasn’t about intensity,” says Bradley.
“In fact within the community we’ve been working with there seems to be a high level of support for intensification. But not when the infrastructure’s not there to support it. In our case the stormwater infrastructure is basically non-existent.”
Sandringham is a quick trip from the city and would be a great place to build up – if the pipes were in place. The government’s first attempt to force councils nationwide to increase housing options, the 2021 Medium Density Residential Standards, would have run over those objections.
“There’s never been a stormwater system built here,” says Bradley. “The system that exists, the piping under the streets around us now, is basically around delivering water to houses, and taking wastewater away, and maybe a little bit of stormwater into it where they can.”
There’s a massive infrastructure project being built practically under their feet – the central intercepter. But it’s for sewage, not stormwater.
“We do have a combined wastewater and stormwater system in our neighbourhood,” says De Monchy, “but what happens is once the flows get over much higher than a one in 10 year event they shut off connection to the wastewater network which means stormwater’s got to go somewhere – so it goes on the streets.”
Both say there’s no lack of knowledge on this issue – “there are hundreds of papers on this … dozens of studies,” says Bradley. “But they just seem to be reluctant to try and find a solution that doesn’t just involve people accepting that flooding happens.”
But the council is up against central government rules when it comes to rebuilding on those empty sections.
Richard Hills chairs the council’s Policy, Planning and Development Committee and deals with a slew of plans overlapping Auckland.
Lately those plans have been turned upside down by the government, as its quest to force councils to make way for more housing is pushed through in haste – failing to take into account issues such as the type of flooding the city experienced in January 2023, or where the most suitable place is for high-rise flats and intensity.
Now there’s another potential u-turn in the rules imposed by central lawmakers, the third in recent times. So far the chopping and changing has cost the council $13 million in wasted work, not including staff time, and it still doesn’t know where it stands.
This at a time when the government is lambasting councils for overspending, and plans to introduce a rates cap.
Meanwhile the council continues to work on the last iteration of the government’s law changes, because it has to – it’s the law.
At the moment “we’ve got hearings panel members already appointed with the government, they’re all raring to go and I’m not sure … do we change the direction? If it goes out to consultation again what does that even look like? Will people even engage because they just thought they engaged three months ago, four months ago? And a lot of people spend money on those submissions too, and time.”
“The frustration is I think we just need to stick on one path, understand what’s going on and then continue to address it.
“The other thing would just be nice if government worked with us before they jumped into new policies, new plan changes, new local government requirements.”
Aucklanders also seem to be hung up on a figure of two million more homes.
The number reflects capacity, not buildings.
“It would take every single person or property owner in Auckland to develop their property to the maximum possible available capacity on every single site in Auckland. Which we know that most people won’t. A lot of people will stay in their homes forever, a lot of people won’t sell, and there’s not the development community or the population that would build out every single property in Auckland,” says Hills.
The council’s data suggests Auckland can expect 300,000 to 400,000 new homes in the next 30 – 40 years, no matter what the plan is.
Timeline
- 2016: Auckland Council introduces its Unitary Plan. This is its ‘planning rulebook’ on building in Auckland.
- October 2021: Labour and National jointly announce their Medium Density Residental Standards [MDRS] (also known as the “3×3” law). Three dwellings, three stories tall, would be allowed by default to be built on most city properties across New Zealand.
- August 2022: Plan change 78 (PC78) introduced. MDRS came into effect.
- January 2023: Auckland anniversary floods, resulting in widespread destruction. Brought into sharp focus the perils of building in flood zones.
- June 2025: Auckland Council and government come to an agreement that more land will become avaliable for housing, especially around the new City Rail Link. Auckland would be exempt from the MDRS and permission is granted by the government to scrap Plan Change 78 – as long as the new plan creates the same number of houses (that two million figure).
- October 2025: Plan change 120 introduced.
- November/December2025: Round one of consultation.
- January 16 2026: Government confirms to RNZ it is looking into weakening housing intensification laws which might reduce the controversial two million figure and Auckland council confirms it has heard nothing.
- January 27 2026: Housing minister Chris Bishop says some tweaks in the legislation are expected “in the next month or so”.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
