Media release

14 July 2014

First Housing Accord plan variation to create up to 3000 new homes

A group of landowners in Hobsonville have become the first to lodge a plan variation application in an Auckland Special Housing Area (SHA), bringing plans to create up to 3000 new homes a step closer.

If accepted, the proposal will vary 155Ha of the Scott Point SHA for mixed residential and associated uses. This will allow for the development of standalone houses, terraced houses and possibly apartments, and allows for open space, neighbourhood centre and protected ecological zones. The area is currently zoned as Future Urban within the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.

The Scott Point SHA was among one of the first announced following the signing of the Auckland Housing Accord, which provides for the creation of SHAs by Auckland Council with the approval of Government.

This enables qualifying developments in the SHAs to be streamlined and fast-tracked. Three tranches of SHAs have so far been announced, with 63 established in total to date. These areas will help boost Auckland’s land and housing supply including the provision of quality affordable homes over the next three years.

After working with Council’s Housing Project Office (HPO), six of the area’s 38 landowners have teamed up to apply for the variation, which could lead to the development of up to 3000 new dwellings over time.

David Clelland, Growth and Infrastructure Manager at the HPO said: “This is a large-scale project that is challenging because of the many different land owners involved.”

“This plan variation application, one of many we expect to come into the HPO in the coming months, is a significant development because it is the first to be submitted in an SHA,” he said.

“Under the previous process it would have taken many years to reach this point, which highlights the difference the HPO is already making. We now expect the area to develop rapidly once a decision on the plan variation is made in the next six months.”

Mr Clelland said the HPO masterplanning and consenting teams have been working hard with the applicants to ensure that the plans for development respond to the challenge in a practical way that will reflect its wonderful location, context and leave a neighbourhood that is valued by existing and future residents.

Abu Hoque, Harrison Grierson’s Project Manager and Lead Urban Designer for the Scott Point project said: “It’s been a fascinating journey to progress this enormously challenging project involving a large number of private individual land owners and key stakeholders over the last few months.

“Our aim was to identify the most appropriate development outcome for the area, so that it can become a special place not only for its residents, but also for its visitors and for generations to come. We are extremely fortunate to have the wonderful people of the HPO beside us, who assisted us throughout the project to make it a real collaborative creative planning and design decision making process.”

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