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A bid to build 18 new homes on the western edge of Warkworth has been turned down after independent commissioners said the development would have adverse effects on the site’s rural character.
Ellper Holdings Limited wanted to develop 18 single house sites of between 373 and 580 square metres with a new road at 14 Mason Heights, off Woodcocks Road, where currently there is just one house. The land is bordered by the Mason Heights Gospel Church to the north-west and one house to the north, and is otherwise surrounded by fields to the south and west, with the Mason Heights subdivision to the east.
At a hearing in December, the parties for the applicant and Auckland Council disagreed on whether the site was rural or not, with Ellper Holdings planner Diana Bell saying the site was not rural, not urban, but “peri-urban”, and the future urban-zoned land was earmarked for development.
However, council planner Hannah Thomson said the land was definitely rural and pastoral in character and even if there were to be future development, that didn’t mean it should happen now.
“Eighteen lots and a new road is not small scale,” she said, while recommending that resource consent should be refused.
In their decision released on February 13, hearing chair Richard Blakey said he and commissioner Amanda de Jong were unable to accept Bell’s contention that the site had no rural character.
“Overall, it is our finding that the proposal would result in a clearly visible level of urban development and, consequently, have adverse effects on existing rural character and amenity values,” he said.
“The proposal will result in actual and potential adverse effects on rural character and amenity that are more than minor and which are not sufficiently resolved through the mitigation measures incorporated within the application.”
Referring to a previous High Court case, Blakey noted that it had been found that the overall purpose of future urban-zoned land was as a “holding zone”, to provide a transition from rural to urban use and development, and that, until it was rezoned as urban, its main activities should be rural.
He added that there was no evidence that the development would add to Warkworth’s housing mix.
“While the proposal will provide additional housing capacity, we are not convinced that the proposal provides for an increase in housing choice – we have no plans of future dwellings before us, but anticipate that the subdivision will provide for more single family-sized homes, similar to those on the other side of Mason Heights,” he said.
