14 June 2001

Glen Eden Deal Best Available

‘Glen Eden has got the best deal available and I commend their efforts’, David Cunliffe said.

‘The agreement reached between the Glen Eden Community Protection Society, Morningstar Developments and the Waitakere City Council is the result of months of hard work by the GECPS. It is a tribute to the efforts of the local community’, David Cunliffe said.

The agreement includes a reduction of the number of housing units to be built on the ‘3 Guys’ site, and community participation in a redesign of the site plan. It provides a basis for GECPS to settle its Judicial Review of the Council’s non-notified resource consent, which had allowed the development to proceed.

‘In my view the original consent was always improper and a judicial review would have upheld that. However a negotiated solution is better for everybody than a long court battle’, David Cunliffe, said.

‘Once the supermarket was demolished it could not be replaced. It is deeply regrettable that Council approved a building permit just before last Christmas allowing demolition of the 3 Guys supermarket’, David Cunliffe said.

‘I hope Council has learned from this issue to be extremely cautious about issuing non-notified consents. I want to acknowledge the efforts of Councillor Janet Clews who has worked very hard to ensure that is so’.

‘Like the local community, I have been battling for months to see sense prevail on this issue’, David Cunliffe said.

Mr Cunliffe has met repeatedly with the Housing Minister, Mark Gosche, and Housing New Zealand CEO, Michael Lennon, to ask Housing NZ to pressure Morningstar Developments to move to an alternative site or redesign the project.

‘The Minister assures me he has done everything possible to assist this case’, Mr Cunliffe said.

‘The problem was the binding contract between Housing NZ and Morningstar that could not be walked away from. I am pleased Housing NZ has supported the agreement to redesign the project and reduce the number of units’, David Cunliffe said.

‘This contract was entered into under the policy of the former National government, by a National – appointed Housing New Zealand Board.’

‘The Minister has stated publicly that there will be no more projects like this one. Labour’s policy is for small scale, pepper-potted housing’

ENDS

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