Housing issues can’t be fixed with ‘monstrosities’
Wellington’s housing affordability issues will not be addressed by creating ‘‘Stalinist, gothic monstrosities’’ on Box Hill in Khandallah, a former Member of Parliament says.
Chris Finlayson, speaking to Wellington City councillors as a Khandallah resident, said they needed to think carefully about the consequences of their actions.
Finlayson was talking about the draft spatial plan, a blueprint for housing intensification in the city. It proposed Khandallah’s town centre become home to new developments of at least six storeys. Finlayson said yesterday he believed densification should be done ‘‘sensibly’’.
Finlayson talked about how Wellington was rapidly changing – pointing out how places like The Terrace were becoming more residential. ‘‘The city’s commercial area is shrinking, and we need to take that into account,’’ he said.
Finlayson also advocated for a more regional view when it came to planning as possible ‘‘mistakes’’ could be avoided.
‘‘I am not a NIMBYist. I do love Khandallah, it is my tu¯rangawaewae. I would hate to see intergenerational botch-ups occur as a result of a spatial plan that’s not properly thought through.’’
Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons asked Finlayson what he thought a NIMBY was. ‘‘A NIMBY would simply say ‘any development is fine so long as it’s not in my street’ ... I recognise that there needs to be intensification and that some hard decisions need to be made,’’ he said.
‘‘When you make decisions, councillor, bear in mind you’re making them for future generations.’’
Finlayson was one of several people who made oral submissions to the council on its draft plan.
The owners of Johnsonville’s ailing shopping centre also spoke yesterday – their submission hoped the plan could recognise the suburb as a ‘‘metropolitan centre’’ and allow development of up to 18 storeys at the shopping centre site.
Currently, the draft spatial plan proposed Johnsonville’s town centre become home to eight-storey developments which received a mixed reaction from residents.
Stride Investment Management Limited’s general manager of development, Mark Luker, said it supported the draft spatial plan but called for intensification and a ‘‘greater scale’’ for Johnsonville.
Councillor Diane Calvert said she had seen the shopping centre ‘‘deteriorate’’ over time and asked if Stride was making this proposal to ‘‘maximise your profit from a land banking perspective’’.
Land banking was about buying land based on its potential for development, subdivision or future. The buyer holds onto the land until they can sell for a profit. Luker said the company was focused on investing.
‘‘I don’t think the land banking is something we identify with, let alone, would go out and pursue,’’ he said. Councillor Jenny Condie asked why 18 storeys?
‘‘Height is about appropriateness of both function and form,’’ Luker said. ‘‘It’s about the appropriateness of the actual development as opposed to slavishly banging up 18 levels which may not well be appropriate and commercially viable.’’