Sleepyhead’s $1.2b HQ plan heads to Environment Court

The plan for a $1.2 billion Sleepyhead manufacturing and housing development at Ohinewai is off to the Environment Court after opponent Waikato Regional Council lodged an appeal.

The council said its appeal would focus on seeking improvements and refinements to provisions in the decision of the independent commissioners, who last month gave the green light to rezoning rural land in the north Waikato to pave the way for the development of manufacturing headquarters for Australasia’s largest bedding manufacturer and up to 1100 houses.

The commissioners’ 100-page decision sharply criticised the regional council for its opposition, along with another opponent — transport agency Waka Kotahi.

The Comfort Group, owner of the Sleepyhead brand, declined to comment until it has read the appeal.

Regional council chair Russ Rimmington said the council had “always recognised the positives” that would flow from the proposal.

“. . . In fact, we have worked hard to grant consents sought from us for the industrial activity to occur.

“We welcome the creation of jobs in the region and . . . we know the region needs to provide more housing but it’s really important we are building quality and enduring communities.

“As a council we have some concerns that we believe have not been adequately addressed by the independent hearings commissioners in their decision. So we have lodged an appeal that is focused on specific provisions of the decision.”

The specific provisions of the decision where the council is looking for improvements include:

● Management of flood risks.

● Public transport and car dependency.

● Accessibility and urban form.

● Water and wastewater connections. Commissioners in their decision said the project had the potential to provide more than 2600 jobs to the Waikato, to provide affordable housing to the local workforce and to contribute an estimated $200 million a year into the local economy.

Earthworks for the 178ha development are already under way, after the Minister for the Environment agreed that resource consent applications to authorise the planned foam factory and rail siding on the site could be processed under the Government’s Covid19 fast track consent process.

In their decision, the hearing panel of commissioners, appointed by the Waikato District Council, took the regional council and transport agency to task, noting that central to their joint opposition were concerns the proposal was not anticipated by strategic planning documents and not in line with existing planning documents.

“We consider those agencies have . . . given little weight to the strong directions in the (National Policy Statement) for decisionmakers to be responsive to development opportunities unanticipated by RMA planning documents.”