30 May, 2026

Deputy mayor gives update on intensification moves

City cheerleader… Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson speaking in Milford last week

Planning intensification changes for Auckland have become “an exercise in maths and maps”, says Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the Milford Residents Assocation (MRA), Simpson acknowledged community concerns over the issue and said revised plan change options would come to the Auckland Council planning committee on 9 June.
Local boards would then be consulted, with feedback provided to the committee before a vote. The public would be able to make submissions for an independent hearings panel to consider. “We will know what it’s going to look like in 2027,” she said.
Simpson urged locals to ensure councillors and board members knew what they thought of the revised plans. Both North Shore ward councillors, planning committee chair Richard Hills and John Gillon, attended the Milford meeting, along with Devonport-Takapuna Local Board chair Trish Deans and around 30 locals.

Several residents spoke out about their frustrations with multi-level developments that shaded neighbours, abutted boundaries and came without parking.
Simpson said successive governments rather than councils were responsible for many regulations. In her own area of Ōrākei she had taken a local MP to see issues caused by on-street parking which made it difficult for a car to pass, let alone an ambulance or fire truck.
She said an upside of council gaining more direct control of Auckland Transport was it would now fall to local boards to decide how to tackle issues on local roads, such as by putting yellow lines along one side of streets to free space. But they would also wear the response.

Simpson acknowledged the work of local representatives and groups and gave an overview of council structures and costs. While not always agreeing with Mayor Wayne Brown’s choice of words, she said he was standing up for Auckland to be better consulted by central government.
MRA co-chair Debbie Dunsford later told Simpson and Hills the costs groups faced to be represented at planning change hearings were daunting. She was concerned that the “maths and maps” exercise meant a blanket approach to where intensification should occur. Milford was a small town centre, with no major transport links, yet surrounding streets were being zoned for six-storey apartments.
Hills said the latest planning change proposal sought to restrict intensification in more areas due to flood risk.

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