Auckland's high-rise row heats up as councillors progress two scenarios

9:11 am today

Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin

Auckland's high-rise row is heating up with councillors progressing two scenarios - one which ringfences density within 10 kilometres of the city centre, the other which also allows for high rise housing on core bus routes and around local town centres.

The council decided on the options on Tuesday and they will go out for consultation to iwi authorities and local boards.

Opponents say raising Auckland's skyline will be a blight on the city's unique character and heritage; supporters say that's nothing but NIMBY-ism and if the country is to find homes for the growing population it needs to build up.

Sally Hughes from the Character Coalition did not deny the need for intenstification - but said "hands off" the Special Character Areas in suburbs like Kingsland.

"In our special character areas, if just one 15 storey building is built there, that ruins the special character of that area," she said.

The Character Coalition rejected Auckland Council's intenstification proposal and wants houses that had previously lost their special character status given it back.

But Patrick Reynolds from advocacy organisation Greater Auckland believed intensification around transport hubs was absolutely vital for the city's growth.

"Cities should grow. I mean, once this was forest and then after that it was farmland. I mean, when is perfect? When do we have to stop?"

Patrick Reynolds.

Photo: Supplied / City Vision

His challenge to Sally Hughes and her supporters - use their "admirable" energy and influence to argue for quality new builds rather than getting in the way of progress.

"My challenge to you, Sally, would be to advocate for quality future heritage," Reynolds said.

"We do not need to keep every single bungalow and every single villa ... and we should be unsentimental, frankly, we have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of villas and bungalows."

Hughes said she agreed that upscaling and intensifying around transports hubs was a good idea.

"We want to take advantage of all this new infrastructure. However, we can show you areas in Kingsland that are suitable for even 15 storey buildings."

Some agreement, at least, that any future developments should be in keeping with Auckland's unique character and heritage.

Councillors 'frustrated'

Auckland councillor Christine Fletcher said planning the city's future development had become "an out-of-control snowball".

She told Morning Report the council was set to review the Auckland Unitary Plan in 2027, and it should have waited to start the process then or when planning and environment legislation changes.

"Nobody has pushed and said to the central government, look, we have to have another plan in a year's time, why don't we delay this. But we're just sort of rolling on like some out-of-control snowball.

"That has left many of us feeling very frustrated because the cost of all of this has been about $20 million thus far. There will be further costs to come with further submissions that are going to take place once the council decides on an option and there's an independent hearing process."

Councillor Fletcher said she supported progressing option A and only doing what was legally required of them.

"Knowing we have to do another plan after all of this, I just want to keep it as simple as possible at this point because it's not the end of the road.

"That [Option A] was probably the least offensive."

But she agreed the city would need more development around train stations, other than the Southern Line stations, which option B allowed for.

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