Mangawhai development not without growing pains

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WORDS/PHOTOS/JULIA WADE
28 Mar, 2022

 

As east Kaipara continues to bloom, large excavation machinery and cleared land is becoming a common sight in Mangawhai with a number of major developments antcipating council sign-off.

Besides the ongoing Mangawhai Central works and a scattering of smaller subdivisions, two significant residential developments, a large retirement village and new business hub are being proposed for the area.

Mangawhai Heads suburb, Jack Boyd Drive, is set to expand by a number of small subdivisions as well as a further 28 lots at the end of the street.

Developer of the large subdivision, Baray Holdings were granted a resource consent (RC) to create 24 residential homes, three jointly-owned access lots and a legal road to vest in council with works to be carried out in four stages over ten years.

Around the corner, Metlifecare are planning a multi-million dollar retirement village on a 13-hectare Sailrock Drive site with work potentially to begin in 2023 [see Focus Feb 28] and on the corner of Molesworth and Estuary Drive, KEA Property Group have plans pending for a business hub, with details regarding the ‘retail shop, office space, industrial warehousing, gym and service station’ to be released at a later date.

 

Lake View Estate
Naturally, large developments are often eyed warily by residents, unsure of the changes more homes and businesses will bring to their neighbouring area, and if publicly notified, RC’s draw a number of submissions from affected locals expressing both concern and support for developments.

Mangawhai’s largest potential residential development, Devich Road’s ‘Lake View Estate’, proposes to turn approximately 135 hectares of rural-zoned land into 67 individual lots. Developing company Vermont Street Partners (VSP) along with owners of the property and in consultation with KDC staff, have a vision to revitalise 39 hectares with ambitious, legally-protected planting of over 260,000 natives including 800 kauri, restoration of wetlands, ongoing pest management and weed control support, as well as a 5km network of public walking and cycling paths.

VSP director Edward Sundstrum stated ‘we are very proud about the profound ecological and amenity benefits that the Lake View Estate development will bring’.

Ranging from over 4000sqm to 3.6537 ha, the residential sites carry a price tag from $540,000 to $1.15m with 17 lots already sold even before RC has been granted.

 

For and against
Out of the 25 submissions lodged, 13 are in opposition including a joint effort of 17 residents – ‘Team Lake’ – with three standing neutral including Northland Regional Council, and nine giving full support along with the tick of approval from the Department of Conservation.

Supporters state they like the ‘significant ecological restoration’ of the plan, how the removal of cattle and ‘extensive native plantings and regeneration of the wetland’ will help improve local biodiversity and ‘mitigate climate impacts’, creating a safer, more environmentally friendly environment, with the public walkways a benefit to the community. There was a call for ‘a significant developer contribution to upgrade nearby roads’ however, as well as objections to the proposed ban on cats and dogs in the area.

Although some in opposition supported the enhancement and protection of the 39 hectares in principle ‘subject to stringent and measurable consent conditions’, they also hold a range of concerns including: an increase in residential traffic adversely effecting property, the gated entrance/exit and Devich Road’s narrow one-lane bridge; public access to the gated area and querys regarding responsibility for maintaining the public walkways, wetland and planted areas if held in private ownership and risks of pest control – poison and traps – to the area’s children and pets; and claims of a lack of consultation or conflicting information and the site is not within areas identified for rural residential development in the Adopted Mangawhai Spatial Plan.

A question also remains over the current owner’s rights-of-access to the proposed new roads.

 

Ensuing public hearing
Being publicly notified by VSP, the Lakes proposal went through a two-day hearing, presided over by commissioner Lee Beattie on March 22-23, which saw the VSP team attending online and submitting an updated scheme plan with supplementary evidence a day before the hearing.

Although submitters say the applicants scheme plan was an approvement, ‘more needs to be done’ for the proposal to work and are asking the commissioner to decline the current application and advise VSP to reapply, ‘when the vision, effects, mitigation, execution and ongoing environmental responsibilities are clear’.

VSP counsel stated ‘we absolutely reject any suggestion the proposal has not been thought through, it’s a sizeable and complex matter… the Team at the Lake submissions significantly overstate and contain inaccuracies or a lack of understanding for some of our proposals’.

Before adjourning the hearing, the commissioner and all parties agreed VSP will have 10 working days to file a written reply to clarify matters raised at the hearing and to work with council to produce an agreed set of conditions, which will then be passed to submitters who will have five working days to review and respond, before the closing date, April 13.

 

The debate over the future of the sweeping green landscape of ‘The Lakes Estate’ gated community is yet to be known after a public hearing process held at Mangawhai domain recently.

 

KEA Property Group have plans pending for a business hub on the corner of Molesworth and Estuary Drive, with details to be released at a later date.

 

Disputes blight Lakes Estate development Besides disagreements over aspects of the Lake development, ongoing personal disputes have also unfolded between the VSP director and residents, beginning after an original design for a 35 lot subdivision lot fell through. Two years ago, a number of Lakes members collaborated with the ‘hard-working owners… to support their vision of developing their land’ and reached a verbal agreement which was allegedly reneged when the applicant became involved. One submitter stated ‘we have suffered years of tactical strategy… sales pitches with no substance, manipulation of expert advice, legal threats and harassment’ by the applicant, ‘whose motivation was not, and still isn’t, community or the environment but profit’. Also attached to the Lake’s development is controversy regarding who actually has the legal right to develop the property, with Team Lake seeking legal action based on the Lake View Estates Residents Society’s constitution, which states ‘Mangawhai Development Ltd’ (MDL), remains the rightful developer, ‘until Lakes View Estate development is fully completed, the ‘Developer’ shall be the controlling member of the society, regardless of whether the developer is at any time a member'. Lakes was originally developed by MDL from 2006 to 2010, with sole director, Phil Cotton holding the title of 'controlling member' which according to the Lakes constitution, was non-transferable to another party. According to the Companies Register, MDL has been under receivership since 2016 and were recently reinstated on February 22 this year. In a single statement, an MDL spokesperson says 'Mangawhai Developments Ltd is now out of receivership and Phillip Cotton is the sole director and is also operating as controlling member with ability to act’. When applying for RC, applicants have to present an updated 'Record of Title' as proof of property ownership which allows anyone with the property owner’s permission to potentially develop land regardless of private society’s constitutions. KDC’s Resource Consents Manager, Wendy Robinson, stated council staff were aware of the angst around the ‘entitlement-to-develop’ dispute, however in regard to the application the dispute was considered a civil matter and ‘not material to the RC application although legal matters can be discussed at the hearing’. In an ‘Outline of Legal Submissions’, counsel for VSP stated ‘the atrocious behaviour of some of the [Lakes] inhabitants and the previous developer, who have raised irrelevant legal issues, cast wild and potentially defamatory allegations, and/or a range of issues that are not relevant to the merits of the proposal’ have compelled VSP to file ‘a procedural memoranda and strike out application to deal with these matters’. ‘We note that your [the commissioners] direction on 20 March 2022 addressed these issues and confirmed that a range of matters had arisen that were better dealt with in other forums… and the hearing was to proceed.’

 

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