Manukau will not accept ARC decision on proposed zone change in Mangere

Sir Barry Curtis says the Auckland Regional Council, in deciding to reject part of Manukau City’s proposed extension of the Metropolitan Urban Limit, has effectively pre-judged the issue and unnecessarily interfered with established statutory land-use decision making processes.

The Manukau City Council applied to bring 1200 hectares of land in the Mangere-Puhinui area within the Metropolitan Urban Limit to allow business to develop land around Auckland International Airport. But, while the ARC agreed to notify the changes for the bulk of the land, it rejected a vital part of the proposal by excluding 100 hectares.

“This rejection is short-sighted and shows a complete lack of appreciation of the planning process supporting the proposal,” Sir Barry says.

Sir Barry says the decision effectively guts Manukau City Council’s business development proposals for the area. This is because most of the 1200 hectares involved is already airport land. Therefore the 100 hectares rejected actually constitutes a very significant proportion of the proposed area for new business development.

“In my view the ARC decision is an unnecessary intrusion into the land use planning responsibilities of Manukau City Council, “Sir Barry says, “and flies against established practice for dealing with issues like this through the Resource Management Act.

“The proposal will be notified, so there will be a full public hearing, and the entire 1200 hectare proposal should be included in that well-established process. By choosing to remove 100 hectares from this proposal, the ARC has acted as judge and jury, and deprived the public of Manukau of their right to have a say in how their city develops.

“The land that has been excluded is very important for the economic development of the city. There is a severe shortage of business-zoned land in Manukau and this particular area is urgently needed for a major proposal which will have great benefits for the city, including job creation.

“The regional council’s decision is an unnecessary constraint on the land use planning responsibilities of Manukau City Council. We intend to appeal the decision.”