Newlands subdivision rezoning approved
23 March 2012
Newlands subdivision rezoning approved
The Environment Court has approved the residential development of 6.6 hectares of hilltop land above the Ngauranga Gorge and at the end of Spenmoor Street in Newlands.
This decision follows mediation between Wellington City Council and the landowner, Eyal Aharoni of Primeproperty Group, which resulted in Mr Aharoni agreeing to reduce the maximum number of houses from 220 to 90. Under the existing ‘Rural’ zoning in the District Plan, only 11 dwellings had been approved for this land. The 6.6-hectare area has been rezoned 'Outer Residential'.
The Chair of the Council’s Regulatory Processes Committee, Councillor Leonie Gill, says “the Council was persuaded to support high-quality residential development on part of the land and to turn expensive confrontation into an opportunity to do something good for the city”.
Cr Gill says
important points of the resulting proposal
include:
• 90 proposed dwellings would be built on a
6.6-hectare portion of the site, while the remaining 8.4
hectares would only allow only low-density
housing.
• Primeproperty has agreed to pay for further
improvements to Spenmoor Street to help address local
residents’ concerns about traffic safety, and the
construction of two new public pathways down to Newlands
Road and Wakely Road.
• The development has been
designed by Athfield Architects which will provide for a
diversity of housing types and lifestyle needs, while
protecting landscape values and the natural character of the
land.
Cr Gill says that the rezoning and proposed developments would be subject to “a high degree of control” with detailed design assessment undertaken as part of a non-notified resource consent application.
“This is a good example of how the Council can work with developers to produce a high-quality development that provides for the future growth of the city while managing the effects of the development on the local community.”
ENDS