Source: Radio New Zealand
The government agreeing to lower the maximum number of houses in Auckland shows they have been listening to Aucklanders, a heritage group says.
Cabinet agreed to lower the maximum number of houses in Auckland from 2 million to at least 1.6 million, it was announced on Thursday.
Auckland Council had been progressing a new plan to accommodate up to 2 million homes in the coming decades.
The council opted out of medium-density rules that apply to most major cities on the proviso it set up zoning for 30 years of growth.
The council’s Plan Change 120 set out the process for doing this, but the government had since come under pressure from proponents of heritage homes who raised concerns about further intensification in character areas that were already seeing major development.
Devonport Historic Society chairperson Margot McRae said the decision was the best-case scenario for them. 123RF
John Burns from the Character Coalition said two million zoned sites was always an unrealistic and unnecessary target.
“We’re also pleased it will leave it to the council to decide which areas are going to be removed from intensification. We do hope the council will consult with communities this time round before making any decisions.”
He was still concerned about character housing in Mount Eden and Kingsland after the minister said the council should prioritise intensification near the city’s rail network.
“We agree growth around stations generally is a good thing, but there’s plenty of zoned land around Maungawhau, Kingsland, and Morningside stations, and we say there’s no need to destroy these few surviving reminders of our heritage.”
Devonport Historic Society chairperson Margot McRae said the decision was the best-case scenario for them.
“Very relieved that finally common sense has prevailed. Chris Bishop and this ridiculous Plan Change 120, it was always just completely wrong-headed.”
She said the government had pushed Plan Change 120 onto the council and Aucklanders.
“Auckland Council has professional planners, and they’ve always said that Plan Change 120 was terrible. It was not the plan they would’ve written, it was imposed on them by central government.”
“Now they’re backtracking, thankfully, but what a waste of money, resources, time, and anguish that people all around Auckland have put into this. Thousands of people have submitted, and now they’ll have to re-submit. It has been a disaster and proves central government should not get involved in local city planning matters.”
Roughly 10,000 submissions were made on the proposal by organisations and members of the public.
McRae said many people’s opposition to Plan Change 120 was not just about protecting heritage buildings, but building more houses in places Aucklanders actually wanted them.
“The council will now have the right to decide which areas will be intensified, and we all know there are areas that can be intensified and they will be, and lots of areas in Howick, Belmont, and Milford, all of these places were going to be possibly ruined by high-rise buildings.
“It’s not just people wanting to protect the old houses. It would’ve affected every part of Auckland.”
Council would ‘stick with the two million and carry on’ – mayor says
Wayne Brown at the housing intensification announcement. RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown fired a warning shot after the announcement that he would not be dictated by Cabinet.
Act leader David Seymour said the reduced number is a decision in principle and still needed legislation passed.
“The government will now await Auckland Council producing a summary of how the zones will change before legislating,” Seymour said.
But Brown suggested otherwise.
“We’re not doing this in order to go to the government and to the Cabinet and ask for their approval,” he said.
“I mean, the Cabinet mostly don’t even live in Auckland, so that’s not going to happen.”
The council would “stick with the two million and carry on” if it had to do that, he said.
On the whittling down from two million homes, Brown said people were focused on the wrong thing.
“And that was, we weren’t going to have two million houses, and it was just a concept that was beyond the thinking of most people.
“If it calms down some worried elderly residents in Epsom, then that’s done its job.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
