4 August, 2021

Hostilities flare again over town-square development

Politicking around Takapuna town square development plans has again laid bare the deep splits in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board.

Three of the six board members recently flew in the face of advice from officials in pushing through a call for public notification of planning consents recently lodged for the site – a decision which will anyway rest with an independent planning commissioner.

Passed at the board’s monthly meeting on chair Ruth Jackson’s casting vote, the same motion raised a number of issues around the future of the Anzac St public carpark land, for which design proposals had already been accepted by the board, on an earlier split vote under former chair Aidan Bennett.

The Heart of the Shore team of Jackson, board deputy chair Jan O’Connor and motion mover Trish Deans – elected on a platform of halting the sale of community assets – say too many unknowns remain about the ramifications of plans by Panuku, Auckland Council’s property arm, to sell some of the site.

“A number of these issues are valid concerns that board members haven’t had answers for,” said Deans.

This included lack of clarity about access and pavement space for bus-stop provision along Lake Rd, she maintained.

Local-board feedback on the consent application that was “out of scope” of its governance role would be rejected out of hand, members were advised by area manager Eric Perry. “This board doesn’t have a role to play,” he said.

Only if the commissioner decided to notify the consents lodged by Panuku for initial site-preparation works starting in early 2022 for 30-38 Hurstmere Rd and 40 Anzac St might wider input be accepted.

Bennett and Toni van Tonder said the Heart of the Shore trio were simply relitigating issues already dealt with or not up to the board to decide. The trio opposed the project and wanted to stop it, they said.

“You didn’t get the answers you wanted,” said Bennett. The project had been extensively consulted on and many questions asked again and again, he maintained. “The project is going ahead.”

Member Toni van Tonder said: “It’s smoke and mirrors to be seen to be doing the right thing for people who you want to see you fighting on these issues.”

She said she had been blindsided by the notice of motion and the hijacking of processes. As one of the board members, along with Deans, delegated to provide board views on consents, van Tonder said they had been planning to discuss with other members the consent lodging response, recognising the project’s importance. Meeting times had been discussed with officials and then Deans put forward her motion.

“You have muscled me out of my job in order to put forward your own agenda on the town centre,” said van Tonder.

“Is it all right to just drop your shoulder and barrel on through?” asked Bennett.

Perry provided all members with a detailed written response before the meeting on why the scope of the notice was beyond the legislative role of board members. Their role was merely to give feedback on whether the commissioner should consider notifying consents.

Member George Wood said he did not believe the initial consent applications met the threshold for public notification.

Van Tonder unsuccessfully put up an amendment that Perry’s advice and other emails about the process, dating back to early July, be tabled. This was voted down after a 3-3 split, on the chair’s casting vote.

“I’m really quite shocked that three people who campaigned on openness and transparency won’t have emails tabled,” said van Tonder. It was embarrassing that what had been passed as the board view really was not, she said.

Jackson said she wanted the notification because of the size and significance of the square plans. “It’s not our decision – the public should get a say.”

O’Connor said members’ repeated efforts to get answers had been unsuccessful. Bennett disputed this, saying workshops had been held with Panuku and Auckland Transport. O’Connor repeated her concern about the inclusion in lots for sale for high-rise development of pavement fringe land occupied by AT’s Lake Rd bus shelters. The intention is apparently for shelters to be partially integrated into any new buildings.

With development deals not yet struck, O’Connor said there was a risk that if work began on public space, it might need to be dug up for services later.

Bennett said: “What’s being done today is in danger of compromising the development partners.”

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