Plans for the proposed Botanic Riverhead scheme. Photo / Consent application documents
Plans for the proposed Botanic Riverhead scheme. Photo / Consent application documents
An independent panel has approved fast-tracked consent for a 422-unit retirement village and 90-bed hospital at west Auckland’s Riverhead after concerns from authorities were mostly allayed.
Objections from Crown and territorial agencies over roading, water, safety, stormwater and flooding issues from the proposed Botanic Riverhead were mainly resolved by agreementbetween the developer and opposing parties, further reports and assessments.
Matvin Group, a developer with $1 billion of work on and committed, plans the village, geriatric hospital, childcare centre, and a café.
Its application was made under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020. The Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao formed the panel approving the consent.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Auckland Transport and Auckland Council had previously opposed it, citing safety and unfinished roading upgrades as some of the reasons why it should be rejected.
The scheme is for a 9.9ha site at 1092 Coatesville Riverhead Highway.
That area is under pressure from flooding and increasingly congested roading networks.
Riverhead amid the latest round of flooding. Photo / Drew Lorrey, NIWA
Waka Kotahi cited an uncompleted upgrade to State Highway 16, the application being lodged out of time with the Auckland Council’s future urban land supply strategy and other factors.
The highway upgrade wasn’t planned to be done till next year, the agency said, citing people’s safety.
Auckland Transport (AT) did not support the application being accepted for fast-track consenting. It expressed concerns that the development was being planned before the necessary transport infrastructure was developed.
That was needed to service the area, AT said.
But the final decision said agreements with authorities were now mainly settled.
“As a result of caucusing between the applicant, Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi, all transport issues have been resolved except Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi maintain 24/7 access should be provided for the east-west pedestrian link through the site,” the decision said.
The council’s original submissions cited “significant concerns” about the plans and potential flooding but that too was resolved.
“Auckland Council’s development engineer, stormwater expert and Healthy Waters have all raised concerns with the flood risk and stormwater management in the area and the need for an integrated approach,” an original pre-decision summary said.
Things weren’t improved by more recent events this year.
The decision said after the January and February floods in Auckland, the council asked for a further review of the stormwater measures and flood risk assessment.
“Healthy Waters was concerned the proposed development would increase flooding by up to 200mm on Duke St and Te Roera Pl whereas the applicant maintains the development will not cause any additional flooding beyond that already existing,” the final decision said.
A review of stormwater measures concluded the level of flood risk from the development would be minor.
The decision available from the EPA said resource consent conditions included limiting the main building height to four storeys and three storeys for the other buildings. The panel had visited the site last October.
Construction must be staged and shelterbelts kept until the relevant stage of the development begins.
“The decision comes 160 working days after the application was lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority. This includes a period of 49 days where the application processing was suspended at the request of the applicant,” the EPA statement said.
The panel’s decision by chair Paul Cooney and members Rauru Kirikiri and Lee Beattie was made on March 29 can be appealed to the High Court.
The Riverhead Forest is about 400m north of the site, about 3km from the North-western Motorway. The eastern boundary of the site is adjacent to the existing urban edge of Riverhead.
In 2021, New Zealand’s biggest listed construction business won state consent to buy a big Riverhead site for new housing.
The Overseas Investment Office granted consent for Fletcher Building subsidiary Fletcher Residential to buy 20ha.
That came the same month as the business sold a controversial site in Māngere for $30m after an agreement with the Government to buy the disputed Ihumātao land.
