My Account
For many years, this paper has written about the tide of urban development creeping north from Auckland. First forecast in the draft Auckland Unitary Plan a decade ago, Warkworth is looking at a five-fold increase in its population over the next 30 years. Around 1100 hectares of formerly rural land will be bulldozed and reconfigured for residential and business use. Numerous housing plans are on the drawing board in Wellsford and Mangawhai’s expansion is well out of the gate.
Additionally, new housing density rules, which came into effect last year, allow for the average section to accommodate up to three homes of up to three storeys high. Growth will be both outwards and upwards.
The reality of what this means for existing residents started to sink in this year. New roading projects, mooted by Supporting Growth, mean that more than 200 property owners on the periphery of Warkworth could lose some or all of their properties. The drone of traffic will replace birdsong and property values will likely drop. Construction might happen in a few years or not at all, but the spectre of the plan will hang over affected families for at least the next 15 to 20 years. Lives will be uprooted or left in limbo.
Not that moving people aside to make way for development is anything new in our district. Around 50 properties were affected by the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway, and 143 are on the indicative route for the Warkworth to Te Hana road. Lines drawn on a map do not differentiate between a property that has been in a family for generations or a garden and orchard that may have taken decades to develop. Growth, for some of us, will mean it’s time to move on.
Urbanisation will also bring urban problems so it will take a concerted effort to retain and maintain the things we value most about living in the Mahurangi and Kaipara region – a closeness to nature, our sense of community and a relative feeling of safety.
So, as 2023 draws to a close, and we exchange our daily routines for a few weeks of relaxation and repose, let’s enjoy, while we can, this wonderful corner of NZ.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays and happy New Year from the Mahurangi Matters team
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