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Auckland Council needs to work much more closely with the Warkworth community on its new Future Development Strategy if it stands a chance of succeeding for the town.
That was the view of the Warkworth Community Strategy Group, made up of One Mahurangi Business
Association and Warkworth Area Liaison Group members, plus local engineers and planners, in its submission on the draft strategy this month.
One Mahurangi co-chair Dave Stott told July’s liaison group meeting that council’s rationale for putting the brakes on greenfield growth until infrastructure was in place was understandable.
However, the trouble was that many of the major projects council wanted to stall in Warkworth until 2035-45 were already in place, underway or the subject of private plan change applications.
“Developments in the north and south are proceeding anyway and are now completely out of kilter with council’s new timetable,” he said.
Stott added that developers were providing much of the infrastructure themselves and paying for facilities like wastewater lines.
He said the way forward was for council planners and agencies to have meaningful engagement with the Warkworth community, so that the town ended up with the right balance of housing, infrastructure and job opportunities.
“We need an early release of land for commercial and industrial development, because the last thing we want is for everyone to have to drive to Auckland for work.”
And Stott warned that unless council, government and others began consulting more closely with the community, Warkworth would suffer as it expanded.
“The Ministry of Education did not talk to a single teacher in this area before buying land in Woodcocks Road next to the single lane bridge,” he said.
“We’re going to have total dysfunction and dislocation if we don’t look at ways we can raise these issues with council.”
In its formal submission, the Warkworth Community Strategy Group said it wanted the entire Warkworth district reviewed with more detailed investigation and planning “to produce a pattern of development that would provide the best outcomes for the community, in line with the overall objectives of the strategy”.
“Our current preference would be (that) council planners lead the development processes in close collaboration with the local community, developers, landowners and local professionals to create a rational strategy supported by detailed implementation plans,” the submission said.
The group also suggested:
• modifying the route of the Western Collector to enable the industrial zone to be fully developed and allow a hospital to be built
• freeing up industrial-zoned land in west Warkworth and next to Goatley Road
• completing the Western Collector Road
• constructing the Sandspit Link Road as a priority
• prioritising infrastructure to Warkworth North, including Paddisons Farm, and North West Warkworth (Stubbs Farm) to service developments already underway
• releasing land south west of Warkworth for development, including the construction of a Southern Interchange to the new motorway
• releasing land north east of Warkworth, to enable upgrades for Matakana and Sandspit Roads
