A contentious plan to re-develop a seaside village on Auckland's North Shore has been referred to the fast-track approvals process, despite community opposition.
By Jessica Hopkins of RNZ
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop accepted Peninsula Capital's "Devonport Lanes" application on Tuesday, and their proposal would now be reviewed by a panel of experts.
But some locals – including the Devonport Heritage group – raised concerns at a public meeting in June about buildings towering up to six storeys above the suburb's heritage main street and blocking views of the Takarunga Maunga.
The group staged a protest earlier this month, raising red balloons 27 metres into the air to show how high eight-storey buildings would rise in Devonport village.
Peninsula Capital managing director Mark Hiddleston confirmed the 50-room hotel, four residential apartment buildings and shopping precinct the company wanted to construct would be four to eight storeys high.
'We knew it would be contentious'
"It's not that it hasn't been considered. We knew it would be contentious.
"Height allows this development to take place, to ensure that we can provide the restoration, and ultimately we're trying to bring vibrancy back to Devonport village."
Hiddleston said Peninsula Capital had worked with Heritage NZ and Auckland Council's heritage experts on the plans.
"This has always been about much more than developing a site. It's about bringing more people into Devonport, restoring and finding new uses for some really important heritage buildings, and helping make sure the town centre has a strong future.
"Devonport is a fantastic place, but its town centre needs people in it, and its beautiful heritage buildings need investment, restoration and ongoing care. More people living here means more people using the shops, cafés, restaurants and services every day. We want to create somewhere people genuinely want to live, stay and spend time, while keeping the things that make Devonport Devonport."
He acknowledged that traffic on Lake Road – the only road into Devonport – was an issue that needed consideration.
'Don't think we're going to make traffic worse'
"That's why the village is an appropriate place to put more density and more intensification because you've got the ferry, a great piece of infrastructure, and one of Auckland's best-used facilities, right there.
"Lake Road and the traffic woes need to be addressed, but I don't think we're going to make that problem worse."
But Devonport Heritage chair Margot McRae said that, unlike getting a resource consent through the local council, the fast-track process allowed Peninsula Capital to block out dissenting opinions.
"Three years ago they [Peninsula] wanted to work with us, they wanted to consult us, and they saw Devonport Heritage as a key stakeholder. But once fast-track came along, they didn't need to meet us any more.
"That's why I'm saying to them, please invite us to be part of the process."
Hiddleston said that while everyone in the community's opinions were relevant, Devonport Heritage's concerns had already been voiced through the media.
"Fast track is a legitimate process. Three years ago it didn't exist, and we believe it's an appropriate process to run through.
"The panel of experts will consider heritage as we have."
The fast-track process would require Peninsula Capital to consult some interested groups, including the Tūpuna Maunga Authority and owners of neighbouring land.
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