ARC notifies decisions on Papakura MUL shifts

1 July 2009

The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) has reached its decision on Proposed Changes 11 and 12 to the Auckland Regional Policy Statement and an associated variation to the Proposed Auckland Regional Plan: Air, Land and Water.

The proposed changes sought to extend the metropolitan urban limit (MUL) in three areas within Papakura district.  The council accepted the MUL shift in one area, but regretfully rejected the two other areas.

The application for the MUL extensions was lodged by Papakura District Council in 2007 with the intention of providing extra capacity for residential building.

Councillor Paul Walbran, Chair of the ARC’s Planning and Strategy Committee says that the decision to reject two parts of the three part application was not the preferred outcome for any party.

“The application for the two rejected areas showed a lack of certainty around the management of stormwater discharges.  In addition, one of the areas was of concern because of its close proximity to Ardmore Aerodrome – which has a maximum capacity for 350,000 aircraft movements per year.    While this area is suitable for urban growth, the proposed residential zoning would have been problematic in relation to the airfield’s on-going use.

“We were also concerned about the lack of any business zoned land to balance the increase in residential capacity.  There are already a lot more people who leave the district for work than work within it.

“We don’t want to hold up growth, but we have to ensure that development is carried out responsibly,” Cr Walbran said.

ENDS

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