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Keeping Auckland's Future Bright - Sustainable City Development
Auckland City Council has welcomed the interim decision of the Environment Court on the district plan change that means Landco’s Stonefields development can move ahead to provide homes for over 6500 Aucklanders.
Deputy Mayor Dr Bruce Hucker says the transformation that is underway at Stonefields into a high quality residential neighbourhood supports the council’s commitment to sustainable development and a more compact city.
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“With Auckland city’s population expected to grow by 90,000 over the next 14 years, Stonefields will play an important part in helping to provide for the homes, jobs, facilities and services needed,” Dr Hucker said.
Auckland City Council has rejected urban sprawl as an option for managing the demands made by an increasing population. That, says Dr Hucker, is a key reason why the Stonefields development of a well-planned community within the isthmus, which includes a town centre, school and reserves in a walkable neighbourhood, fits so well with the council’s growth management strategy.
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The cost of sprawl development on the outer edge of the Auckland region includes loss of open space and natural habitat, additional greenhouse gas emissions from car dependent fringe living and the need to provide such sprawl areas with an extended network of expensive infrastructure – including connections to potable water supplies and sewer systems.
“The Stonefields development, just 8km from the CBD, represents a more sustainable approach to providing for a growing population,” Dr Hucker noted. “The council and Landco have been working closely together to ensure a high quality development and it is satisfying to see that this new neighbourhood will now take shape.”
In its interim decision to allow the district plan change, the Environment Court noted the potential economic benefit of the development for nearby communities; with an additional retail spend of over $50 million that could be spent in surrounding town centres such as Panmure, Glen Innes and Ellerslie.
The court also acknowledged the stormwater measures incorporated as part of the new neighbourhood, which includes a covenant forbidding the use of roofing materials containing copper or zinc and treatment of the stormwater to ensure there are no adverse effects on the Waiatarua wetlands – an important public open space and wildlife reserve.
Homes in the development will feature energy efficiency measures and in an example of “smart plumbing” at work, houses will have a secondary system of water pipes so that stormwater can be used to flush toilets and water gardens.
For more information about the council’s growth management strategy, visit: www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/growthstrategy
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