Media release: October 9, 2013

Wesley College Trust Board welcomes Special Housing Accord notification

A development proposed for the land surrounding Wesley College – Paerata is amongst the first lot of Auckland’s Special Housing Areas to be announced.
The Paerata – Wesley development will be a transit orientated new town that will focus around the reinstatement of a former rail station where Sim Road crossed the rail corridor.

The proposed development is for minimum of 4500 new homes over 15 to 20 years including mixed housing and terrace and apartment living. The development seeks to align with the Council’s vision of Auckland being the ‘most liveable city’ by providing some 13 hectares of walking and cycle networks, 5 hectares of neighbourhood reserves, and 30 hectares of Green riparian network.

The development will be carried out by Grafton Downs Limited – a charitable company within the Methodist Church of New Zealand under the Auckland Housing Accord, which was developed by Auckland Council and the Government to address Auckland’s housing shortage.

The land is currently used for dairy farming and has been zoned Future Urban under the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan, which was notified on 30 September 2013.
The beneficiaries of the Grafton Downs charitable company – Wesley College Trust Board and the PACT 2086 Trust have welcomed today’s announcement.

Wesley College Trust Board General Secretary Chris Johnston said the Trust was pleased to be able to contribute to addressing Auckland’s housing shortage, as well as advancing its core mission to provide educational opportunities for students of Maori and Pacific Islands descent and students whose family and personal circumstances require special care.

Proceeds from the development would go to the Trust’s endowment fund for charitable purposes.

He said all proceeding to plan the intention was to have the first residential housing ready for occupancy by 2015.

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