Government dictates new terms to Auckland Council over Point England

Minister Nick Smith has introduced new legislation to tell Auckland Council how to manage what will be left of Point England Reserve after the Government takes nearly 12ha of the land for housing intensification.

With the Point England Development Enabling Bill still before Parliament, Smith has issued a Supplementary Order Paper to the Bill that will instruct Auckland Council in their management of what will remain as reserve land. The SOP states that no grazing or farming will be permitted on the remaining land and that Auckland Council must lift the area of sports fields from 5.3ha to 8.4ha “as soon as practicable” after 12 months of the Bill becoming law.

These instructions to Auckland Council will come despite the fact that the housing intensification plan as published effectively cuts the reserve in three, leaving the northern third less accessible to the public than before, while taking some of the better existing sports field area for the housing development. Presumably, the cost of trying to develop and maintain new sports fields on the remaining area, much of which is not level, will fall on Auckland ratepayers.

In light of existing Government proposals to create new un-elected Urban Development Authorities with potential powers to override local government plans and by-laws, it remains to be seen how Auckland Councillors react to this latest move by the Government to direct Auckland Council in the management of its affairs.

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