CLEVEDON CARES

For release: 6 September 2007

Clevedon Residents "Furious But Not Surprised" by Council Decision

Community group to fight on against canal complex

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Clevedon residents say they're furious but not surprised by Manukau City Council's decision in favour of a controversial high-density housing project.

The MCC today announced it was going ahead with a change to the District Plan, required to facilitate the building of 297 new homes on man-made canals close to the mouth of the Wairoa River near Clevedon.

"This is a truly shocking development for everyone who is concerned about preserving our rural environment or who cares about local democracy," says Mary Whitehouse, spokesperson for Clevedon CARES, the local community group, formed to fight the canal housing complex.

"Council is flying in the face of local opinion, which registered a six to one majority against the complex when submissions were lodged in May last year. We will be studying the MCC's decision very closely and will almost certainly be lodging an appeal against it with the Environment Court.

"Although we're furious, we're not hugely surprised by the decision, as the MCC adopted the plan change as its own in June 2005, when it was under no legal obligation to do so. Councillors have also shown considerable reluctance to accept many of the well thought-out objections made to the scheme.

"Clevedon's charming village atmosphere and beautiful rural surroundings will be severely compromised if the canal project goes ahead. High density housing is totally out of keeping with an area such as ours, whilst the addition of approximately 1,000 new residents is bound to impact on our already-stretched local infrastructure and facilities.

"We don't understand how the MCC Hearing Committee can confidently assert that this scheme will bring economic and social benefits to the Clevedon area, when work has not even commenced on Council's own 'Clevedon Village Sustainable Development Plan' and no equivalent plan is envisaged for the rest of the Clevedon Valley," she says.

Mary Whitehouse adds that there are also significant environmental questions raised by the large-scale dredging and sediment disposal required by the canal project.

She points out that the canal housing project is opposed not just by the vast majority of local residents but also by the Auckland Regional Council, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and several other organisations of significance.

"We note Council's acknowledgment that there is some 'ambiguity' over how this decision fits in with the Regional Policy Statement. It's simply absurd that Council should knowingly come up with a legally dubious decision just ahead of local elections, leaving it to its successors to sort out the mess.

"We've received considerable support from people right across the Auckland region and beyond, who recognise the importance of keeping a rural belt around our ever-expanding city. On their behalf, as well as on our own, we intend to keep up the fight," she says.

ENDS

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