Wairoa plan change upheld

Manukau City Council’s Hearings Committee has decided to generally uphold the district plan change which allows for the creation of the Wairoa River Maritime Village.

The decision follows an in-depth hearings process that heard more than 1000 public submissions and considered evidence presented on the proposed plan change.

Hearings Committee Chair Jan Sinclair says the committee spent a lot of time considering the evidence and submissions before upholding the plan change.

“This is a unique development in a unique area. It’s a one-off which offers another choice of lifestyle in Manukau.

“The committee heard expert evidence that gave us confidence the proposed canal housing won’t be bad for the environment.

“It will be self-sufficient with its own infrastructure for sewage and drinking water. Thirty four hectares of wetland and native planting will encourage new life in the river, we’re quite confident this will mitigate any potential environmental effects.

“The rules of the plan change will protect the natural character of the surrounding rural landscape and ensure a carefully managed urban development,” Cr Sinclair says.

Other reasons given in the Hearing Committee’s decision to uphold the plan change:

• It will bring economic and social benefits to the Clevedon area in the form of employment opportunities and enhanced facilities that can be supported by a growing population 
• It will facilitate the provision of enhanced boating facilities in the Wairoa River and result in generous open spaces and a walkway system for the public 
• North Road will be upgraded considerably. The decision to issue the Notice of Requirement to designate land is being released with the plan change decision.

“There’s been high public interest in this proposal, so it has been through a very rigorous process where everybody has had their say,” Cr Sinclair says.

Submitters now have 30 working days to decide if they will appeal the decision to the Environment Court.

The Hearings Committee that dealt with the plan change is a quasi-judicial committee that makes decisions in a similar way to a court hearing. It must consider evidence and submissions in an impartial way, not making a decision until these have all been considered.

Key facts

· The committee agreed with expert evidence that established the overall ecological effects of the development can be mitigated. Proposed mitigation would increase the ecological values, this would include 34 hectares of wetland, native riparian planting to encourage new stream habitat, pest and domestic animal control.

· Some submitters had concerns about consultation. The committee considered the plan change process effectively allows for three rounds of public input – pre-notification consultation, submission and further submission process. Further resource consent applications are also necessary, which are likely to be publicly notified.

· There is some ambiguity with how the decision fits in with the Regional Policy Statement, the council will try to get more clarity through its appeal to the Local Government Auckland Amendment Act (LGAAA)

· The plan change for the Wairoa River Maritime Village (Plan Change 13) went through the statutory process outlined by the Resource Management Act.