Maori plan to develop returned coast

Plans by Northland Maori to create a settlement the size of Mangawhai on land returned under the Treaty of Waitangi has attracted strong opposition before details are even finalised.

Kaipara hapu Te Uri O Hau, in partnership with property development company Darby Partners, has yet to lodge a formal application for the proposed development.

It would be built on land zoned protected "rural conservation", immediately south of Mangawhai, about 80 minutes north of Auckland.

Te Uri O Hau was given title to 1600ha at Te Arai Beach, including Mangawhai State Forest, under a 2002 treaty settlement worth $15.6 million.

"Open days" were held by the tribe and Darby Partners this year, outlining proposals for between 1400 and 2000 homes over 620ha of land adjoining the coast at Te Arai. The plans included a golf course and campground.

Te Arai is at the northern end of a stretch of coast between Pakiri to the south and Mangawhai in the north.

If the development goes ahead, between 4000 and 8000 people could move into the area.

Nearby Mangawhai, one of the fastest-growing centres in Northland, has a permanent population of 1500 to 2000 that doubles over summer.

Te Arai resident Mark Walker said locals feared that "rich lawyers' holiday homes" would forever spoil the isolated beauty of the area, home to at least two species of threatened birds.

"Basically there is forest there and a couple of roads surfers use, but it's very much untouched landscape," he said.

One idea floated by Te Uri O Hau is to design the settlement as a "sensitive coastal community" with clusters of 70 to 80 houses set 200m to 400m back from the seafront, meaning they would not be visible from the beach.

Talks between Rodney District Council planning staff, Te Uri O Hau and Darby Partners have been going on for some time.

Rodney District planner Peter Vari said no application had been lodged, but the plans were no secret.

A private plan change would probably be required because the proposal did not comply with the District Plan.

Darby Partners planner Ewen Henderson referred all inquiries to Esther Gray of the Te Uri O Hau Settlement Trust. She did not respond.

The deputy chairwoman of the Auckland Regional Council and a former Rodney District councillor, Christine Rose, said there was pressure for the community to endorse the project but locals remained concerned.