28 September 2018
Housing NZ have informed us that site works are commencing shortly on their vacant land at 9 – 11 Purewa Rd, opposite Meadowbank Train Station.
Hours of work on site are Monday to Saturday 7:30am to 6:00pm. Contractors will park on the vacant Puroto St site. Click here to view the letter delivered to nearby residents on Friday 28 September 2018.
25 July 2018
Housing NZ have accepted our invitation to speak to us at our next monthly meeting on Tuesday 14 August. The presentation will cover the developments currently underway or planned in Meadowbank and St Johns, background on how Housing NZ decide what type of development to put on each site, some specific updates on Purewa Rd and Puroto St, as well as opportunity for questions.
The next meeting is at St Chads Church at 38 St Johns Rd. Meeting start at 7:30pm
To provide some background: thanks to the persistence of Grant Dickson and his team at Purewa / Puroto, on Friday 20 July the Residents Association finally met with Housing NZ (HNZ) about the development on Purewa Road. It’s taken more than two years to get this meeting!
Grant chaired the meeting, which was attended by OLB Vice-Chair Carmel Claridge, (now past) MSJRA Chair Tim Duguid and Treasurer, Barry Stewart, and a team of six from HNZ.
We noted the two main issues that residents have with this development: design and process. Specifically, the open stairwells and other aspects of the building and grounds; and the lack of consultation, which has been perceived, rightly or wrongly, as disingenuous. We emphasised, as we have in our correspondence to HNZ that we’re not opposed to developments by HNZ in our suburbs, that such a view would be inconsistent with the purpose of our Association, and that we’re not arguing against density or intensification. On the contrary, Grant put the view very eloquently that by consulting meaningfully with residents, better outcomes could be achieved for the whole community, including the HNZ tenants. Indeed we look forward to new arrivals in our suburbs joining our Association.
We’re pleased to report that HNZ listened to our concerns, and that they committed to engaging further with the community. Without promising wholesale changes to the building or site form, HNZ will review design details, including the stairwells, with Grant’s team, which includes an architect. A team from HNZ will also present to MSJRA before the start of construction, most likely at our meeting on Tuesday 14 August*. HNZ will also meet with the OLB in a workshop session.
HNZ is a significant landowner in our suburb and we hope this marks the start of a better engagement with our community.
Meanwhile, here’s the first colour image of the development on Purewa Rd that we have seen (view from towards the Orakei Basin end of Purewa Road).
23 May 2018
News on the application by Housing New Zealand for resource consent to construct 11 dwellings, comprised of nine apartments within three three-storey buildings, and two units as a double storey duplex complex at 9-11 Purewa Road, opposite Meadowbank Train Station.
The decision by Auckland Council is to grant consent without public notification, on the basis that “the activity will not have and is not likely to have adverse effects on the environment that are more than minor.”
The statement notes that the proposal “will provide housing of an intensity, scale, location, form and appearance that will be compatible with that anticipated in the Residential Mixed Housing Urban (MHU) Zone, while accepting it will result in a change to the existing neighbourhood character”. The general site layout is considered to be “an appropriate design response with the buildings providing a strong street presence and enhanced passive surveillance towards the train station”. The architecture and materiality of the proposal are assessed as being of “appropriate quality and will reflect the residential nature of the site and surrounding sites.” Landscaping treatment is also considered to be appropriate in softening and mitigating the buildings and any effects on privacy to surrounding residents”. In other comments, it is noted that parking can be accommodated on site without compromising the function, capacity or safety of the road network, ensuring traffic and pedestrian safety is maintained.
In summary, the decision finds no special circumstances that warrant the application being publicly notified as there is nothing exceptional or unusual about the application to require public notification.
We are grateful to Grant Dickson in obtaining this clarification from Auckland Council after a prolonged correspondence.
The images show the street view of the original pair of state houses, the initial proposal from HNZ, and the proposal which has been approved.
At every possible opportunity, we have objected not to the scale of the development per se, but to certain aspects of the building and site design. We’re disappointed with the outcome and the process that HNZ has followed, which on the face of it contrasts with the approaches taken by other developers in our suburbs.
Naturally, we may well consider this sets a precedent for HNZ developments in the MHU zones in our suburbs. You can read more background on the progress of this development here.
