Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities has today filed its statement of defence with the Auckland High Court following a case brought against it by private property developer, Winton Land Limited.

The agency is strongly rejecting claims of anti-competitive behaviour made by Winton and remains focussed on building new homes to meet a pressing need for all New Zealanders, says Katja Lietz, General Manager Urban Planning and Design.

“Separate from our public housing programme, our urban development role is about increasing housing stock for all Kiwis, providing a range of housing options to enable more people to own their own homes in locations close to jobs, transportation, education and other amenities,” she says.

“Our urban development work is focussed on creating thriving communities to benefit all New Zealanders, generally going over and above what the private market is able, or willing, to do.”

Through provisions in the Urban Development Act 2020, Kāinga Ora can help advance developments that might have otherwise struggled due to challenges such as needing collaboration between multiple parties or funding constraints.

However, Kāinga Ora must have confidence that progressing a development under this legislation is appropriate for the development. The information Winton made available to the agency regarding Sunfield did not provide this confidence, which is why Kāinga Ora did not support progressing the development proposal through the Specified Development Project assessment process, Ms Lietz says.

“We have done many large developments amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars with Winton and we gave the Sunfield proposal serious consideration.”

“But there always has to be a good reason to depart from usual planning and consenting requirements and we couldn’t see that with the information Winton provided us.”

The agency was surprised Winton had not briefed Auckland Council, Waka Kotahi or the Ardmore Airport, which would be a next door neighbour, on its proposed development.

Auckland Council had publicly expressed concerns about the flood risk at the site which it would have wanted to address, and users at Ardmore Airport were concerned about a risk of aircraft noise sensitivity.

Winton had refused an offer from Kāinga Ora to attend a joint meeting with Auckland Council to discuss the Sunfield proposal.

Kāinga Ora is also rejecting Winton’s claims about its land purchases.

The agency was not the highest bidder for Ferncliffe Farm, a site at Tauriko West in Tauranga which Winton had also wanted to buy, and understood its bid was accepted because it guaranteed payment in advance of development.

“Ferncliffe was purchased to address a need for affordable housing in Tauranga, over and above what the market has been providing,” says Ms Lietz.

She notes that while the agency is buying land to increase housing supply, over the previous five years its land acquisitions still account for less than 0.3% of all residential/lifestyle land purchases throughout the country.

Although still at planning stages, the agency is aiming to build over 1,100 new homes at Ferncliffe, with at least 20% to be sold at affordable price points, making them more accessible to first home buyers.

“We are disappointed Winton would choose to take this matter to the courts, as it is unlikely to speed up delivery of any houses,” says Ms Lietz.

“However, we welcome the opportunity to explain further our urban development role and the important housing outcomes we are looking to achieve for all New Zealanders.”

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