One Mahurangi: Strategy needs to reality check

One Mahurangi Business Association cochair Dave Stott has called the strategy a shambles.

The association has brought together a group of planners, engineers and community groups to prepare a submission.

“We want an approach that engages council agencies, developers, planners and the community in a collaborative and meaningful way, and that provides a planning strategy that is based on reality,” Stott says. “The strategy should meet community needs in terms of the provision of housing, infrastructure, commercial and social facilities.”

He believes council is trying to slow development because it can’t meet the time frames set out in in the Unitary Plan, and this is probably due to budget constraints and the need to build climate resilience into existing infrastructure.

“Council is proposing that most developments be delayed until 2035 and beyond. At least two of those developments proposed for a later start are already underway – namely Warkworth Ridge and Stubbs Farm – and it is likely that the Waimanawa development in Warkworth South will get a private planning change granted by the Environment Court within the next 12 months.”

Stott says there are two fundamental problems.

The first is that there is still a strong market drive for many more houses. Developers respond to this need and although the Unitary Plan was reasonably well founded in terms of meeting need and providing a framework for infrastructure installation, developers still drove the planning programme rather than council, through private plan changes from the Environmental Court. It is likely that these developments will continue despite council’s attempt to delay them.

“This will mean council planning, provision of infrastructure and the wishes of developers will be even more out of sync than under the Unitary Plan.”

He says the second problem is that development will occur without adequate infrastructure and with no logical sequence or timeframe.

“Poor coordination also means that many of the social and commercial imperatives are not being catered for. Examples of this would be the lack of progress on freeing land for industrial development in the west, rendering existing industrial zones in the Morrison Drive area useless as the result of the proposed route of the inner Western Collector, reduction of future health facilities for the same reason and the nonsensical location of a new primary school on Woodcocks Road.”

“It is good for locals and their wellbeing and also for visitors who come to the region, added Prime, who is also conservation minister. After Kaumātua Poihakena Panapa and Reverend Tuha Panapa blessed the trail, members of the local community joined iwi, the project team and dignitaries watching as 150 local cyclists crossed the new Ahikiwi Bridge, one of two on the trail, built with a $600,000 contribution from Waka Kotahi.

According to Larsen the district council also obtained funding through the government’s Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund, with ministers overseeing the Infrastructure Reference Group granting the council $4 million.

Larsen thanked local people, the marae along the route, the project team and cofunders who have worked with council to make the project a reality.

Stott says the provision of infrastructure and haphazard planning also makes a mockery of council’s so called objectives to provide integrated multi-modal transport systems and commercial development close to home to minimise carbon emissions.

“The new school, for instance, is located where it will require most of the children to be transported to school by car, and lack of planning of industrial and commercial development will condemn our working community to commuting.”

Black Ferns champ recognised

Co-captain of the world champion Black Ferns Ruahei Demant was named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby in the King’s Birthday Honours list, the latest of a series of accolades for the former Mahurangi College student. Demant was raised in the Bay of Plenty before moving to the Warkworth area with her family, aged 11. By 2013, the touch rugby enthusiast was Mahurangi College head girl.

In 2018, she was selected for the Black Ferns –three years after her sister Kiritapu – and last year co-led the national team to the world title. World Rugby named her Women’s 15s player of the year for 2022.

Demant joined her fellow co-caption Kennedy Simon in being recognised in the Honours, and the team’s former coach Wayne Smith was knighted.

Sandspit-based Michael Absolum, one of the country’s most highly regarded education evaluators, was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education in the King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours.

Over more than 40 years, Absolum has worked as a teacher, lecturer, psychologist and Education Review Office reviewer. In 1999, he founded Evaluation Associates, a company helping educators to raise achievement and reduce outcome disparity for students.