Whangārei residents are being warned about the future of their city in the wake of huge potential housing changes announced by the Government.
Puriri Park Rd development opponent Trevor Reader said the look and feel of the city would potentially be forever lost as the Government moves to bring in the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. The changes focus on housing intensification aimed improving housing supply.
"This might be what the Government wants, but the cost is going to be to Mr and Mrs Ratepayer across New Zealand," said Reader, who also chairs Maunu Residents Inc.
Maunu residents objected to the Puriri Park Rd Kāinga Ora development, which is now going ahead, as they said it would irrevocably change the look and feel of their suburb.
Reader said the proposed intensification changes were simply the much larger-scale national version of what his group had fought in its four-year battle to stop social housing going ahead in the Puriri Park Rd suburban green space.
He said house section sizes in the Puriri Park Rd development were as small as 80 square metres, in contrast with the minimum house section size for the surrounding neighbourhood being 500 square metres.