Locals fight back against developer seeking to transform Auckland's Devonport Village

A quaint seaside suburb in Auckland could soon have buildings towering up to six storeys above its heritage main street, if a property developer's plan gets fast-track status.

A 36-page plan by Devonport Property Management Limited, or Peninsula Capital, shows a transformed Devonport Village with four new residential buildings with a total of 80 to 90 apartments, a hotel with up to 50 rooms, a third of a hectare of retail, and a quarter of a hectare of commercial space, with up to 200 car parks.

The plan was initially leaked to a community paper, The Devonport Flagstaff, but Peninsula Capital had since shared it with RNZ.

Peninsula was seeking fast-track consent for the roughly $400 million development.

More than 200 Devonport locals, passionate about their Victorian and Edwardian-era village, crammed into Harmony Hall for a public meeting about the proposal on Wednesday evening.

Speaking at the meeting, Devonport architect Lindsay Mackie said Peninsula's plan proposed building rising up to eight storeys, well above the village's two-storey heritage structures.

He said the village was classified as a height-sensitive area under the Auckland Unitary Plan and building heights were capped at three or four storeys.

"The height limits were set very specifically, very sensitively.

"We do want the density. We want additional apartments, additional people, more workplaces, but these buildings simply overpower the village, and they shouldn't be allowed to happen.

Local resident Ngahiwa Walker performed a mihimihi and karakia at the beginning of the meeting and a waiata at the end to "settle the vibe".

He welcomed development in Devonport but did not want buildings to cover views of the Takarunga Maunga, a historic Māori pā site.

"I have a couple of concerns, mainly about the view that will be affected from the oceanside and a lot of areas, but I'm not against moving forward and having something here in Te Hau Kapua, Devonport."

He encouraged Peninsula to listen to local voices.

The chairperson of Devonport Heritage Margot McRae who organised the meeting, said while the organisation actually likes some of the developer's ideas, the scale of the plan was "horrifying".

"It will cut out views of the mountain, and it will also completely overshadow these little old buildings, and this is just not on in a place like this.

"People come to Devonport because it's a bit special, it's a bit unique. It's a little cluster of houses and buildings gathered between two maunga and bounded by the sea. It's really unique. There's no place like this in the world."

By law, some groups have to be consulted on fast-tracked projects, including relevant local authorities and iwi groups, and owners of neighbouring land.

But McRae said if the project went down the fast-track route, the heritage group would not get a say.

"They've already made sure that we can't because they haven't listed us as someone to be consulted on.

"We've been campaigning to look after Devonport for 30 years. We are a recognised voice of this community, and we need to be heard on this."

She wanted Peninsula to go through Auckland Council's resource consent process, which gave the general public an opportunity to submit feedback.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Trish Deans, who was a former chair of Devonport Heritage, was at the public meeting.

She said as the board's resource consent lead, she was asked to give feedback to Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop on Peninsula's proposal.

"Fast-track requires us to confront whether this development demonstrates a significant national or regional benefit. I've questioned whether that is the case.

"Currently the AUP already permits a reasonable amount of development in Devonport at a reasonable scale. So therefore, does this project make a significant contribution over and above what the AUP enables?

"As a representative of this community elected in this role, it's my job to ask those questions. It's not personal to me. It's simply my role, taking on the community view.

"I expect to hear back answers to my questions, which are sound and solid, and I'm not sure that's going to happen."

In a statement, Peninsula Capital director Mark Hiddleston told RNZ he stood by the proposal and that it was right for Devonport, which was not what it used to be.

"We encourage people to judge the project as a whole. This proposal restores and reuses heritage buildings, and at the same time creates new public spaces. It will bring more people into the village to support local businesses, and represents a significant long-term investment in Devonport's future.

"We're really proud of what we've produced, and excited for the potential.

"This isn't a choice between preserving Devonport exactly as it is today or destroying its character. Our plan strengthens the village while respecting the qualities that make it special. What we're developing is somewhere people will want to live, work, and visit.

"Protection doesn't mean accepting gradual decline. It means investing in Devonport's future in a way that respects its heritage.

"Ultimately, this proposal should be judged on whether it makes Devonport stronger than it is today. We believe it will."

A spokesperson for Peninsula Capital said it would not be appropriate to comment on why it wanted to take the fast-track route, or about proposed building heights, until later on in the process.

"While submissions are still going in, this is still an active regulatory process, so it would not be appropriate for those involved to comment publicly. Once this part of the process has finished, we are very much looking forward to talking more about the development."

Fast-track officials confirmed the project was at the referral stage, where it would be decided if Peninsula Capital's proposal met the criteria to go through the scheme. If approved, it would then be assessed by an expert panel.

The Tūpuna Maunga Authority confirmed it had also consulted on the proposal in its referral stage but declined to comment on its position.