Decision coming on subdivision
The future of Taranaki’s picturesque coastal village of Oakura will be decided behind closed doors today.
New Plymouth District councillors will meet to consider whether an independent commissioner made the right call on a plan change that would allow a 144-house development to go ahead on the southern edge of the town.
Developer Mike McKie had originally pitched a 399-home plan for the town, about 10 minutes’ drive from New Plymouth.
This was cut back to 144 houses after locals expressed outrage that their village would be over-run, with hundreds of people submitting against it.
The Wairau Estate development requires a plan change to allow residential development on rural land, and a hearing before an independent commissioner was held over five days in July.
There was another day of hearings in early December and closing submissions were filed before the end of last year.
A council letter to the applicant and submitters said the New Plymouth District Council had received the commissioner’s recommendation and would make the decision at a council meeting with the public excluded.
This is standard practice as both the applicant and submitters have a right of appeal to the final decision, the letter said.
‘‘There are some administrative tasks that must be undertaken after the council meeting and before we formally release the decision,’’ it said.
‘‘This ensures that all parties are treated fairly and equally.’’
The decision is likely to be available this Friday.
Late last week, the Oakura Community Action Group, which opposes the development, sent a letter to New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom and all district councillors.
In the letter they reminded councillors that there were 549 households in Oakura and 400 submissions against the plan change.
The group also summarised the main points of opposition and directed councillors to a raft of reports the group had commissioned on the impact of the change.
It concluded by saying an outright rejection of the proposed plan change was the only outcome the community would accept.
The decision is unlikely to be influenced by the letter as it will be made based on the commissioner’s recommendation, which has not been shared with the applicant or submitters.
McKie said he would prefer to comment after the decision was made.
Matt Peacock from the Oakura Community Action Group and Kaitake Community Board chairman Doug Hislop also preferred to comment after the decision.
Many villagers and Oakura School remained opposed even after McKie’s team cut its plans from 399 new properties on Wairau Rd to 144.
‘‘We did this because, despite some of the community sentiments expressed, we do care about what is right for Oakura,’’ McKie told the hearing in December.
In closing submissions, some further tweaks were made to the proposal, such as removing the roundabout and pedestrian underpass and allowing instead for ‘‘vehicular and pedestrian safety improvements’’.