Settlement negotiated for Plan Change 49 appeals

Sue Simons and Kate Storer have successfully negotiated a settlement for the three appeals lodged against Plan Change (PC) 49 to the Auckland Unitary Plan.

PC 49 was requested by Fulton Hogan Land Development Limited (FHLD) to rezone 184 hectares of land for residential development at Drury East. The plan change was approved by Auckland Council in May 2022 alongside PC 48 (Drury Centre) and PC 50 (Waihoehoe Precinct) which together provide for the rezoning of 328 hectares of Future Urban zoned land to enable the comprehensive development of a new Drury East metropolitan centre.

Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and Kāinga Ora lodged appeals against PC 49. Auckland Council and Auckland Transport’s appeals primarily concerned the transport infrastructure upgrades required to service the development and the extent to which funding needed to be locked in at the outset for all upgrades necessary to service the full build out of the site. Kāinga Ora’s appeal sought the removal of the acoustic attenuation provisions intended to manage the noise effects of the adjacent arterial road on dwellings within the site.

FHLD and the other Drury East developers, Kiwi Property and Oyster Capital, undertook extensive negotiations with the appellants and various interested parties, and successfully developed a comprehensive set of revised precinct provisions which addressed the concerns of each party.

A consent order was issued by the Environment Court on 1 November 2022, resolving all appeals.

Kate says:

“We are delighted that the appeals have been settled. The consent order will enable FHLD to get on with development, delivering the urban outcomes anticipated for the site in the AUP and the Drury Opāheke Structure Plan.

The fact that the Council determined to appeal against a decision of its own commissioners is disappointing, and added unnecessary cost and delay to the project, but we are satisfied that the amendments to the Drury East precinct provisions agreed as part of the settlement will provide a robust framework for the development of the site.”