CLEVEDON, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
By Katherine Mante
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and is home to almost one third of New Zealand’s total population. The Auckland region spans from Wellsford, approximately 1 hours drive north of the Auckland CBD to Meremere, approximately 47 minutes drive from Auckland’s CBD in the south. According to the Ministry of social development, Auckland is growing by more than 50 people, 21 new homes and 35 more vehicles per day. Auckland’s population is estimated to have increased to 2 Million people living in the region by 2035. Auckland has a youthful population with 37 % aged 25 years and under and therefore new developments need to accommodate this trend through creating sufficient parks and recreational areas. Auckland is one of few countries in world where the city generates more than 30% of our nations GDP. The main employment sections are manufacturing, retail, professional services and wholesale trade.
CLEVEDON, AUCKLAND, NZ CLEVEDON Clevedon is located approx. 35 minutes south east of Auckland’s CBD and 25 minutes from the Auckland International Airport. The Clevedon district is 15 minutes drive from Papakura which is rapidly developing into a commercial satellite hub of Auckland City. Clevedon was an early river settlement town, it sits on the banks of the Wairoa River and has a stunning back drop of pastoral land and rolling hills of the Hunua Ranges in the South and Clevedon Maraetai hills in the west. Clevedon’s proximity to Papakura and the sensitivity of the flood plain and erosion prone surrounding hills would see Clevedon being best suited to a development style which has low impact on the environment. Clevedon would make an ideal high quality residential satellite town for people working in Papakura.
DEVELOPING CLEVEDON THE CLEVEDON DEVELOPMENT SITE Papakura and Takanini are fast develop into large towns with medium to high housing densities and large scale commercial developments. This is due to the locations of these sites and the fact that they already have the infrastructure in place to support their expansion. Clevedon is located within a short drive from these new developments and will provide an ideal country style living alternative. Expanding the existing Clevedon village and preserving a large greenspace around the town will keep the town relatively compact and create a very desirable place to live. This will keep in context with the higher income demographics which already live in Clevedon. A large portion of the Clevedon valley falls within a no build flood plain area with a small area around the existing village being on an island as it sits just above the floodplain. Much of the floodplain is already used as farmland and agricultural land or lifestyle blocks and as this soil is some of the best for horticulture and agriculture uses in Auckland, accompanied with the flooding risk it makes sense to largely leave this floodplain land as it is. The portion of the floodplain which directly borders onto the new development area will be used to create a vegetation buffer and recreational space. This will ultimately reduce the impact of severity of flooding on the town by the incorporation of multiple storm water treatment devices in green spaces, maximising the impermeable surfaces in and around the town and the creation of buffers of dense native plantings around the river and parks. The benefits of developing the land around the Clevedon village involve allowing the district to accommodate part of Auckland’s increasing population whilst increasing the biodiversity of the district. This will be achieved by retiring and the erosion prone Clevedon- Maraetai Hills. The hills will be re-vegetated in eco-sourced native bush and will create part of the eco-corridor. The eco-corridor’s main access will be the 50meter buffers created along all of the main rivers and streams in the valley. These buffers draw both the Clevedon- Maraetai Hills and the Hunua Ranges right into the Clevedon village joining up with the greenspace around the town. The buffer along the Wairoa River ultimately sees both hills being linked with the coastline creating the ultimate eco-corridor for the Clevedon/ Maraetai district. These green belts will also limit Auckland’s sprawl over the hills. Transport to the main centres needs to be taken into account. Space for future development of public transport systems such as a tram or train link between Papakura and Clevedon will be allowed for in roading upgrades. The Coastal Towns of Maraetai and Beachlands will be developed as medium density as they will have potential for a direct link to Auckland CBD via future development of water taxi and ferry networks.
CLEVEDON, AUCKLAND, NZ
CREATING ECOLOGICAL CONNECTIONS LINKING Clevedon Maraetai Hills with Hunua Ranges through Clevedon to the Hauraki Gulf
CLEVEDON’S ASPECT ASPECT The Clevedon district in the study area is predominately flat and therefore the slope and aspect of the site is of little importance in the consideration of buildable area. The majority of the land area to the east of the current town centre receives the most direct sunshine as it incorporates the North, North East and North West aspects. The remainder of the land area has mostly aspects facing South, South East, South West as well as East and West facing aspects.
CLEVEDON’S SLOPE SLOPE Slope of the site varies between 0 and 23 degrees. However as the site is very flat only a small area fits in to the higher range of 8 degrees or more and most of this land is to be used as green space and recreational area. The vast majority of the sites is between 0 to 5 degree slope range. This land is ideal for building developments as it has no issues with erosion. Any land which is above 15 degree slope and has a Southern aspect will be unsuitable for development and deemed retired land and therefore will be planted out with eco-sourced native vegetation.
DEVELOPING CLEVEDON CURRENT LAND COVER The map clearly show the two main land cover elements, built up area and high producing exotic grassland as well as the smaller components of urban parklands/ open space and estuarine open water. The current built area incorporates the original Clevedon town which will undergo some infill housing as per 2012 council plan over the next 5 years. High producing exotic grassland makes up for the vast majority of the land in the Clevedon valley as it was traditionally a dairy farming area. Therefore there are relatively few specimen trees and patches of native bush in this area. The development plan needs to incorporate a large quantity of eco sourced native trees to increase the biodiversity in the Clevedon valley. The Estuarine open water belongs to the Wairoa river which feeds into the Hauraki Gulf from the Wairoa catchment area. All of the land within the development area falls into class LUC 1 meaning the soil is suitable for most uses and will be stable enough for building. The surrounding soil in the flood plain sits in category LUC 2 which is also very fertile soil and will be ideal for rain gardens and other planted out areas.
CURRENT LAND COVER
DEVELOPING CLEVEDON GREEN SPACE The existing town and the new development area are created on the highest points of the Clevedon valley, these areas become islands during severe flooding. The green spaces being created around the town will add to the aesthetic value of town as well as create a protective buffer zone during the severe flooding. The open spaces will consist of a series of swales, rain gardens and water treatment ponds. The open spaces will incorporate native trees and shrubs which attract native birds and wildlife, meandering paths and walkways through out the parks with attractive bridges over streams and rivers.
GREENSPACE AND PARKLANDS
DEVELOPING CLEVEDON ROAD AND WALK WAYS The main access ways joining the site to surrounding suburbs remain the same. The Papakura- Clevedon Road link Clevedon with the largest local town of Papakura. West Road links Clevedon with Brookby a relatively small town. Clevedon- Kawakawa Road and North Road join Clevedon with the Northern beach settlements of Maraetai and Kawakawa Bay. As the Papakura- Clevedon Road travels thought the heart of the existing Clevedon Village this will ensure this part of town remains the hub of the town, even though the increase of the towns population will see changes in shops and old town character, steps will be put in place in the way of legislation limiting the changes to shop fronts and types of buildings allowed in the new developments to ensure old town charm is not lost. The new town layout creates a grid pattern. The main aim of the town layout is to ensure that there is easy vehicle and pedestrian access linking the town centre to the surrounding countryside. This is achieved by creating new main roads in the new subdivisions which mimic the main street of Clevedon village, they run in a north to south direction. The grid style pattern which is created aims to maximise the amount of sunshine each property receives, minimising undesirable properties. Other benefits of the grid layout includes creating multiple view shafts to the surrounding hills and country side. To further add to the connection with the countryside, paths and walkways have been created through out the green spaces which link the countryside directly into the main streets of Clevedon through connecting walkways and view shafts.
ROADS AND WALKWAYS
HYDROLOGY HYDROLOGY AND WATER TREATMENT The new development areas were chosen because of their elevation as the majority of the surrounding area to the north, west and east of the site were identified as sensitive to flooding and unsuitable for developing. This surrounding land is predominantly farm land and lifestyle blocks. A portion of this land which joins on to the town shall be converted into greenspace which will create a buffer from the flood plain as well as an ideal space for storm water treatment created my the impermeable surfaces of the town. To reduce the quantity of storm water run off, the sites are generally larger ranging from 500 - 2500m2. This ensures the ratio of permeable to impermeable surfaces is limited therefore reducing the potential runoff. The aesthetic value of the surrounding floodplains which have been created into a series of rain gardens, swales and other water treatment devices, accompanied with amenity features such as pathways and seating will be further enhanced by the spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. The rivers have a 50 meter buffer and will join the open spaces to create an eco-corridor ultimately linking the surrounding hills along the Wairoa River to the estuary mouth of the Gulf harbour.
HYDROLOGY AND WATER TREATMENT
PROPOSED AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT NEW DEVELOPMENT AREAS The map shows the three new areas that will be created around the existing Clevedon Village. They incorporate the existing vehicle and pedestrian excess ways though the new and proposed areas. The three new development areas include a new Commercial area, low to medium density residential area (Residential area 1) and a low to lifestyle residential area (Residential area 2). These areas will add an additional 506 new dwellings and an estimated increase of 1619 new residents to the clevedon area. The developments will have their own water tanks for water collection and to minimize the reliance on ground water and Auckland town supply. The Maraetai sewage treatment pond will be upgraded to accommodate Clevedon waste water.
NEW DEVELOPMENT SITES
CLEVEDON’S NEW COMMERCIAL AND MIXED USE
The commercial and mixed uses areas occupy 21 new sites and cover just over 3 hectares of land. Each individual site varies from 650m2 to 2636m2 each. The new buildings will consist of one to two story building with their own parking spaces. The majority of the commercial sites are located along Papakura- Clevedon Road, the reason for this being it is on the main road entrance to the town and will have the largest amount of traffic passing thorough this area. Roads are 20m wide, incorporate a swale or rain garden and off street parking.
CLEVEDON’S NEW RESIDENTIAL AREA 1
The residential area 1 which is low to medium density will provide homes for the majority of new residents moving to Clevedon. The combined total land area of just over 26 hectares this zone will provide an additional 442 sites. The sections sizes vary from 220m2 to 1348m2. Building footprints vary from 100m2 to 250m2 and a combination of one and two story buildings. At an average of 3.2 people per household it could potentially home an extra 1415 residents.
CLEVEDON’S LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL AREA 2
The low density to lifestyle housing area consists of 64 sections with one to two level houses with a building footprint of up to 300m2 each and land area averaging around 1500 to 2000m2. At an average of 3.2 people per household it could potentially home an extra 204 residents. The total combined land area of the low density - Lifestyle area is just over 14 hectares. Roads are 20m wide, incorporate a swale or rain garden and off street parking.
VIEWS THROUGH CLEVEDON FROM WEST TO EAST
Image: View from West to East. Showing the view shafts from the proposed commercial centre and retail park on Clevedon - Papakura Road looking out to the Hunua Ranges. Drawing the country feel into the heart of the town
CONCLUSION NEW DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL The new development consisting of three ‘island developments’ which have been identified as suitable for development dues to their elevation about the flooding zone. The surrounding area will be treated in the following ways: The worst effected parts will determined by suitability and either used to developed storm water treatment ponds, wetlands and rain gardens or retired and replanted in dense native vegetation. The remaining parts will be converted into open space and recreational areas. Re-vegetating this sensitive land around the subdivisions will create a buffer which will lessen the effects on residential properties during times of excessive flooding. The buffers will join with the 50m local stream and river buffers of vegetation. By creating a development in an environmentally sustainable way, minimising housing foot prints and maximising permeable space in yards and open space around the town. It is then possible to minimize the amount of water runoff created during heavy rain and ultimately protect the integrity of the local ecosystem and minimize the impact on the water table.
ROADS AND PLANTING DETAILS ROAD WIDTHS
PLANTS TO BE USED IN DEVELOPMENT
20m width of roads
SPECIMEN TREE PLANTING Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) Puriri (Vitex Lucens) Totara (Podocarpus totara)
Carriageway 7.8m wide Footpaths 1.5m wide
RAIN GARDEN PLANTING Cordyline, Phormium, Leptinella, Libertia, Muelenbeckia, Acaena, Leptinella, carex
2.8m berm rain garden Service Berm contains underground services
Services Berm Raingarden Raingarden Service Berm Footpath 7.80m wide Carriageway Footpath