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Kaipara District Council (KDC) has accepted Private Plan Change 85 – Mangawhai East for public notification, opening the door for public submissions from July 14 to August 18.
The proposal, jointly submitted by Cabra Mangawhai and Pro Land Matters Company, seeks to rezone approximately 94 hectares of rural land located on the Mangawhai Harbour. The land, bordered by Black Swamp Road, Raymond Bull Road and Windsor Way, is proposed to be transformed into a mix of residential and commercial zones to accommodate Mangawhai’s rapidly growing population.
The proposed zonings allow for a broad range of housing types, from rural lifestyle blocks and large-lot residential to medium-density developments, which the developers say has the potential to increase housing diversity in the area.
Significant infrastructure upgrades are proposed including roads, electricity, telecommunications, stormwater systems, potable water supply and wastewater services.
On the question of wastewater disposal, the plan acknowledges that the Mangawhai wastewater network currently does not extend to the southern side of the harbour where the proposed development lies.
However, the plan change notes that KDC has paid the Riverside Holiday Park Committee $250,000 plus GST and legal fees, to allow adjacent developments to connect.
Council staff subsequently told Mangawhai Focus that the Riverside Holiday Park is currently serviced by a wastewater pump station, which pumps under the estuary and connects to the wider network, and this all goes back to the Thelma Road South treatment station.
“The comments in the private plan change report do not mean that potential new development is looking at disposing of its wastewater via Riverside Holiday Park,” the council spokesperson said. “As per the report, ‘the Development Area can be serviced by existing and planned networks … there will be additional capacity in the wastewater network once the planned upgrades are delivered. The extent of available capacity will depend on the uptake of existing capacity in zoned land areas and recent plan changes such as The Rise and Mangawhai Hills’.”
Several ecological protections have been included to minimise environmental impact, in response to consultation with the Department of Conservation, Fairy Tern Trust and residents group Mangawhai Matters. These include:
- A no-cat covenant on properties
- Landscaping and restricted access along the coastal edge
- Construction of a designated walkway
- Signage requiring dogs to be leashed and highlighting tidal restrictions
The developers say these measures aim to protect sensitive coastal and ecological habitats in accordance with the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS).
