Developers and land bankers in parts of rural Auckland have had their plans upset, with the council changing the order for the development of housing.
Photo: RNZ / Todd Niall
Parts of the rural northwest look set to wait an extra five to 10 years before being able to subdivide, and Takanini, in the south, could be delayed for a further decade.
Conversely some parts of Warkworth and Wainui in the north could be developed sooner, as can Paerata in the south and the southern part of Drury.
The Auckland Council's planning committee will today consider the new sequencing in its future urban land supply strategy, after weighing up the cost and ease of providing infrastructure.
In the rapidly expanding northwest for example, much of the Future Urban Zoned-land in Kumeu, Huapai and Riverhead will start coming on stream from 2028 instead of 2022.
A council report says this area needs to wait for traffic upgrades, and the completion of the big Northern Interceptor stormwater line in 2025.
Speculators have been active in the Future Urban Zone in the northwest, with some blocks of land changing hands in quick succession in the expectation of subdivision potential.
A report to the planning committee detailed the winners and losers on the land development starting grid.
The winners
Moving earlier in the development pipeline are:
- Warkworth North
- Wainui East
- Silverdale (business)
- Red Hills
- Puhinui (business)
- Wesley (Paerata)
- Opaheke Drury
- Drury South
The losers
Those having to wait 5-10 years longer for development are:
- Kumeu Huapai Riverhead
- Whenuapai Stage 2
- Drury West Stage 2
- Puhinui (business)
- Red Hills North
- Warkworth North East
- Takanini
The revision also followed the Unitary Plan's rezoning more of the rural area as Future Urban, and signalled that the expansion of rural towns such as Helensville and Wellsford would likely happen sooner.
Rodney Local Board deputy chair Phelan Pirrie said $1 billion of roading and transport investment was needed, and slowing down in Kumeu, Huapai and Riverhead made sense, to allow the council and government to get ahead on infrastructure.
Overall more greenfields land than previously expected will be available for housing, with the Unitary Plan earmarking 15,000ha as future urban, compared to the 11,000ha of the previous plan.
