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Rodney Local Board member James Colville (left) with a member of the Vision Wellsford town development team, Lionel Foster.
A group of concerned Wellsford residents, calling themselves Vision Wellsford, want Auckland Council to re-think its zoning proposals for Wellsford, as set out in the proposed Unitary Plan.
The group held a series of consultation events to garner community feedback on their submission to the plan last month. They believe that the zonings proposed in the plan will stymie development.
Group spokesperson Lionel Foster says Council is basing its planning on the fact that nothing much has changed in Wellsford in the past 30 years.
“But we know that there are already Aucklanders moving north for the cheaper house prices and choosing to commute to the city,” he says. “Plus, we don’t believe Council is fully factoring in the effects on Wellsford when the new motorway reaches Warkworth.
“They say their zoning allows for a further 630 additional household units in the town, but only about 130 of those are economically feasible to develop at present.
“We’d like them to consider rezoning land that is easier to develop, say around Bosher Road, which would be more attractive to developers on a return on investment basis.
“Also, the land holding that is for sale to the west of the town centre could sustain slightly more intensive development from being mostly zoned Countryside Living (two-hectares minimum lot size) to Large Lot (4000sqm minimum lot size).”
The group wants to see the ‘look and feel’ of Rodney Street retained, but believes there is room for retail expansion, including big box retail, in the Local Centre zoning, between Worker and Port Albert Roads.
Initially, they see Te Hana as an industrial centre, particularly when the new motorway is extended north from Warkworth, but are reconsidering this based on feedback from landowners.
“The motorway is a real ‘unknown’ in the whole plan. In 2009, the NZ Transport Agency conducted initial investigations and public consultation for an off-line motorway passing west of Warkworth and east of Wellsford, but NZTA planners say they don’t foresee the Warkworth to Wellsford section being built within the life of this Unitary Plan.”
Lionel says the town would have benefited from a more robust discussion on the proposed Unity Plan.
“We have, however, given our 10 cents worth by facilitating these discussions in the evening meeting and open days held last month.
“Unfortunately, there’s very little awareness about what’s proposed and how it will impact on the growth of the town. If we continue to do what we’ve always done, then we’ll get what we’ve always had, which is ‘no growth’.
“The impact of the zone changes won’t be felt until the rates revaluation in 2017. If the land has changed from rural to urban, it’s inevitable that there will be a rate increases, which relate directly to an increase in land value. It then depends on the landowners as to what they want to do with their land, whether this is an advantage or disadvantage.”
Rodney Local Board member James Colville says people forget what a thriving and progressive town Wellsford once was.
“Warkworth was the poor relation,” he says. “We had seven car dealerships here, a lot of services and even a Farmers store. But the controls on what can and can’t happen in the rural areas have become so prohibitive that nothing can happen. We recently had a major rural processing company interested in relocating to Wellsford which would have brought jobs and prosperity to the town, but there was insufficient industrial land available to accommodate them so they’ve gone elsewhere.”
Vision Wellsford has submitted alternative zoning proposals to encourage development away from steep country in favour of more accessible sites. They will submit further evidence on the submission later this month and expect to appear before the Hearings Panel in January.
