My Account
More than 35 hectares of land south-west of Wellsford could be opened up for housing development if a bid to change the council zoning from countryside living to urban is successful.
The proposal is to rezone an area of land to the south-west of Wellsford, bordered by Port Albert Road to the north, Davies Road to the north-east and with Prictor Road running south through the middle.
If successful, planning consultants Terra Nova Planning estimates that up to 189 homes could eventually be sited on the land, as opposed to only 17 under current the current rural countryside living zone constraints, where sites have to be at least 2ha in size.
The idea has come from Peter Raikes, a farmer from Hastings, but whose daughter and son-in-law live on a 6.8 hectare block on the west side of Prictor Road. In a deputation to Rodney Local Board last month, he insisted he wasn’t an out-of-town developer doing this for personal gain, but trying to benefit the wider community.
“I’ve visited the township many times to see our family and made observations. My son-in-law has often told me how difficult it is to buy a reasonable-sized section in Wellsford,” he said. “Some of his brothers have had to buy land outside the town and pay large sums for building plots that are way bigger than what they need. Why should it be so hard for the average Kiwi to buy a section at a reasonable price?
For many, it’s an impossible dream. Surely it shouldn’t be like this in New Zealand.”
Mr Raikes added that having a country living zone so close to town was not an efficient use of land, and he pointed out that allowing medium density housing would actually benefit Auckland Council, as it would bring in more ratepayers.
Terra Nova director and principal planner Shane Hartley agreed that it made sense to incorporate a large area so close to town as a residential suburb, rather than rural blocks.
“It’s expensive land as it is and Wellsford is growing pretty rapidly. The motorway will open up the north,” he said. “We’re saying can we get our ducks in a row for some lower cost options.”
He said the proposal was looking to rezone the area as single house zone with a minimum block size of 1500 square metres. On Peter Raikes’ family site off Prictor Road, this would allow 27 houses, two reserves and an access road.
“It’s early days,” Mr Hartley added. “We’ve been talking to landowners and Council planners, we’re briefing the Board, then there will be preliminary geotech investigation. Wellsford has geotechnical challenges, getting stable platforms is not always straightforward. It’s one of those towns that’s going to develop along ridges and shallow valleys.”
Mr Hartley said Council might be persuaded to make its own plan change, or Mr Raikes may need to pursue a private plan change.
“That would be via a consortium of interested landowners, because it’s got to be done sensibly and needs to be developed in an integrated way.”
Either way, any zone change proposal would be publicly notified and open to submissions and appeal, he added.
