Okura developer ready to fight
An Environment Court appeal around development next to a picturesque estuary and park will centre on the need for housing, the protection of the marine environment and an extension of public land.
Todd Property wants to put roughly 750 houses on land in the small settlement of Okura, which borders an estuary and regional park.
Its plans were stymied last August when Auckland Council’s governing body quashed the Unitary Plan Independent Hearing Panel’s recommendation to extend the rural urban boundary to allow the development. Todd Property managing director Evan Davies said the company is appealing the decision in the Environment Court.
Davies said the opposition to the development of the land, which is owned by Okura Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Todd Property, is centred around concerns the effect development would have on Okura Estuary and the marine reserve it is part of. However, Todd Property has been developing similar land in Long Bay successfully for nine years now, he said.
‘‘We can and will look after the marine reserve,’’ Davies said.
He said the proposed development would half the amount of sediment flowing naturally into the estuary from that land, through planting and design. The plans for the roughly 130 hectare site also include 55ha of public park land as well as coastal access.
Currently, the sites have riparian rights meaning the land is privately owned to the waterline. Davies said it’s a hole in the national Te Araroa Trail and there is no public access. He said Todd Property’s proposal would be a better outcome, including the extension of the park network and national walkway.
Davies said the proposal will also address Auckland’s ‘‘desperate shortage of housing’’.
The company is expecting to go through a mediation process later in the year, before appearing before the Environment Court. It has launched okuraresidential.co.nz which aims to provide a database of information for those interested in the issue. The proposed development has met with consistent opposition from residents of Okura and the Long Bay-Okura Great Park Society concerned about the marine reserve and the area’s landscape and character.