Viewpoint – Dairy Flat growth a work in progress

In 2016 many landowners in Dairy Flat saw property prices skyrocket as their lifestyle blocks were rezoned Future Urban in the Auckland Unitary Plan. 

As a result, many rural properties were snapped up by investors. However, five years down the track, the impacts of these changes are being felt across Dairy Flat. Properties purchased by investors are often vacant, full of weeds and farm fences aren’t maintained. It is a regular occurrence for farm stock to break through the aging fences. For residents that did not sell when their land was rezoned Future Urban, there is a lot of uncertainty about when the area will be urbanised and how their property will be impacted when Dairy Flat is home to 69,000 residents.

In 2020 several projects to plan for the growth of Dairy Flat were put on hold due to Covid – these are now back on. These include the Auckland Council initiated Unitary Plan change for phase 1 of the Future Urban, Dairy Flat light industrial area. This is the land adjacent to the Silverdale interchange that was scheduled by Council to be ready for development by 2022. But, given that the plan change will only be publicly notified in the second quarter of 2022 (and it could potentially end up in the Environment Court if opposed), I think it is time for Council to revise the dates in their future land supply strategy. 

There are examples of well-planned industrial estates, such as Highgate, but the ad hoc industrial development that is already taking place across Dairy Flat is a concern – especially where the land is cheaper in the Mixed Rural zone and Council appears to be consenting industrial activities that have very loose connections to farming. Council planners need to ensure that we don’t lose the opportunity to have a well-planned business/industrial zone with cohesive landscaping, walking and cycling connections to public transport and the Silverdale Park ‘n’ Ride.  

Hopefully Fletchers’ purchase of a large block of land in this Future Urban zone may help achieve good quality urban design.

The other project that is back on the table is the Supporting Growth Project for Dairy Flat and Milldale. This is a collaboration between Waka Kotahi, Council and Auckland Transport. It is a 30-year plan for the transport networks for North Auckland and includes a rapid transport network, walking and cycling connections. 

Many Dairy Flat residents were notified pre-Covid that their properties were in the study area of the proposed new transport connections, and it will be a relief that this project has started again as nobody likes uncertainty. But there are some challenges. It is difficult to map out the walking, cycling and rapid transport network in Dairy Flat when you don’t know where the schools, hospital and town centres will be located and in Milldale any rapid transport network may be constrained by the narrow streets already consented and the apparent lack of forward thinking and collaboration between developers, Council and Auckland Transport in regard to public transport. 

It is difficult to know when Dairy Flat will be urbanised as a whole. Council has it planned for the late 2030s but given that the development contributions may go up 10-fold in Drury and Redhill, developers may start looking at urbanisation sooner than we think.