SOUL TIMES ONLINE
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
www. soulstopsha.org <strong>SOUL</strong> Times November 2015 3<br />
THERE IS ANOTHER WAY<br />
ALTERNATIVE SITE OFFERS<br />
WIN-WIN OPTION FOR ALL<br />
A Viable Alternative<br />
to SHA 62<br />
Don’t let the bureaucrats<br />
make you think Ihumātao<br />
is the only place for a<br />
Special Housing Area.<br />
The people of Auckland own<br />
50 hectares of rural land on<br />
Ascot Rd and Greenwoods<br />
Rd in the Airport Oaks area<br />
of Māngere Central. This<br />
area of Auckland has the<br />
lowest per capita income<br />
and the greatest housing<br />
need. This is<br />
where we should<br />
be building homes<br />
for the benefit<br />
of the Māngere<br />
community, It is<br />
within walking<br />
distance of shops,<br />
schools, medical<br />
centres, multiple<br />
bus routes, cafes,<br />
restaurants,<br />
sports clubs and<br />
churches. On the<br />
otherhand, SHA<br />
62 at Ōruarangi<br />
Rd has none of<br />
the infrastructure that this<br />
alternative option offers.<br />
The Ascot Road site is a<br />
very interesting piece of<br />
land with beautiful sea<br />
views out to Puketūtu<br />
Island and to Māngere<br />
Mountain. The land is a<br />
mixture of ‘light industrial’<br />
and ‘special purpose’<br />
zoning. The land was an<br />
odour buffer zone for the<br />
old oxidations ponds but is<br />
now being landscaped as we<br />
speak (100,000 trees have<br />
been planted this spring).<br />
One underlying issue is<br />
whether the land is still<br />
subject to requirements for<br />
odour protection. We asked<br />
that question of Auckland<br />
Council planners at the<br />
Fletcher Residential is 100<br />
per cent owned by Fletcher<br />
Construction which is 56<br />
per cent owned by foreign<br />
banks, JP Morgan, HSBC,<br />
CITIbank and National<br />
Bank of Australia. As a<br />
foreign owned company<br />
they are required to apply<br />
to the Overseas Investment<br />
Office to gain approval to<br />
purchase of New Zealand<br />
land. <strong>SOUL</strong> has investigated<br />
the application and approval<br />
process with information<br />
released under the Official<br />
Information Act. There are<br />
so many irregularities and<br />
omissions in the Fletcher<br />
application that the<br />
Overseas Investment Office<br />
“SHA 62 at<br />
Oruarangi<br />
Rd has<br />
none of the<br />
infrastructure<br />
that this<br />
alternative<br />
option offers”<br />
outset of researching this<br />
idea and they assured us<br />
there is no insurmountable<br />
issue that would prevent<br />
the land being used for<br />
residential purposes.<br />
This is such an ideal spot<br />
that Māngere ratepayers<br />
received an invitation<br />
from Watercare to visit the<br />
Waste Water Treatment<br />
Plant and coastal walkways<br />
to experience what they<br />
described as “Auckland’s<br />
best kept secret”.<br />
A land swap proposal has<br />
been tabled with<br />
Auckland Council<br />
and the Māngere-<br />
Ōtāhuhu Local<br />
Board.<br />
This could secure<br />
the future of<br />
the Ōtuataua<br />
Stonefields<br />
and the land in<br />
question. The<br />
alternative sees<br />
a better housing<br />
option to meet<br />
the various<br />
demands and,<br />
attempts to maximise the<br />
land’s potential yield ( both<br />
in dwellings and financial<br />
return).<br />
Fletcher Residential can still<br />
make money and avoid a<br />
costly prolonged battle with<br />
the community over the<br />
Ōruarangi Rd site. Māngere<br />
gets much needed housing<br />
in a location well served by<br />
existing infrastructure.<br />
The city benefits by<br />
providing alternative<br />
funding to Watercare<br />
and taking pressure off<br />
ratepayers.<br />
This is a viable<br />
alternative that just<br />
requires courageous<br />
city administrators.<br />
(OIO) has began a review<br />
of their decision based on<br />
information supplied by<br />
<strong>SOUL</strong>. The 80 acre farm was<br />
described by Fletcher as a<br />
“domestic residence and the<br />
grass was mowed regularly<br />
for silage to keep the place<br />
tidy”. If the land is not<br />
classified as a ‘farm’ the<br />
approval process is much<br />
easier and the property does<br />
not have to be advertised<br />
on the local market. After<br />
much argument the OIO<br />
eventually required the<br />
owner to advertise the land<br />
for sale. Fletcher’s lawyer,<br />
not the owner, advertised<br />
the land in the Manukau<br />
Courier and Trade Me as<br />
Map showing the planned<br />
location for SHA62 and the<br />
alternative site between<br />
Watercare and Airport Oaks<br />
(outlined in red)<br />
HI-VIS VISIT: Members of <strong>SOUL</strong> (left) meet with a representative of Watercare.<br />
OIO SALE UNDER REVIEW<br />
“Farmland in Māngere for<br />
sale, suitable for cropping”.<br />
It could be argued that this<br />
is a misrepresentation of<br />
an 80 acre Special Housing<br />
Area zoned Future Urban.<br />
The purchaser is required to<br />
list any waahi tapu or urupa<br />
that might be on the land in<br />
question. Fletcher failed to<br />
declare Auckland’s oldest<br />
and most documented<br />
urupa contained in the<br />
huge lava cave system on<br />
the farm. No mention was<br />
made of Mana Whenua,<br />
the neighbours in the<br />
1000-year-old continuously<br />
occupied papakainga.<br />
Fletcher stated that the only<br />
heritage value of the land<br />
was as “the ancestral home<br />
of the Wallace Family”. No<br />
mention was made of the<br />
farm being confiscated from<br />
Māori of the papakainga<br />
in 1865 and granted at no<br />
cost to the Wallace Family<br />
in 1868. No mention was<br />
made of the defence, in<br />
2012, by the Auckland<br />
Council and local Iwi, to the<br />
Environment Court enforced<br />
zone change. The Auckland<br />
Council was attempting<br />
to purchase the block to<br />
complete the Ōtuataua<br />
Stonefields Historic Reserve.<br />
A review will be released<br />
within the coming<br />
weeks.<br />
Local Board on the SHA<br />
“We share the community’s<br />
concerns and maintain our<br />
objection to this SHA, as we<br />
have since it was first proposed.<br />
However we continue<br />
to support an outcome that<br />
includes the aspirations of<br />
<strong>SOUL</strong> and the Ihumātao<br />
Community.”<br />
Councillor Casey says<br />
no SHA:<br />
Motion: That the Governing<br />
Body of Auckland Council<br />
revokes part of Resolution<br />
number GB/2014/43 of 1 May<br />
2014 in relation to Tranche 3<br />
Special Housing Area at<br />
Ōruarangi Rd, Māngere.<br />
Voted on August 27, 2015 by<br />
Auckland Council.<br />
Motion lost 12-5