Glen Eden hot over housing plan

By LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK

Hundreds of Glen Eden residents are furious over plans for a low-cost housing development in their suburb.

The residents are angry at a Housing New Zealand proposal to build 29 units in central Glen Eden, developed by Morningstar Enterprises.

The suburb's only supermarket, 3 Guys, has already closed to make way for the high-density Oates Rd development, which could strip Glen Eden of its main retail area.

"It's the hottest I've ever seen the public here on any issue," said Titirangi MP David Cunliffe. "If bulldozers move anywhere near the centre of Glen Eden then there will be hundreds of people down there to stop them."

The Waitakere City Council has already granted Morningstar resource consent to develop the site on a non-notified basis, angering the Glen Eden residents, because they were not given any say on the proposal.

It is not the first budget housing dispute Morningstar has been involved in this year. Other Auckland residents are protesting at a development by the company of 40 state houses near the Lynfield shopping centre, which was also approved on a non-notified basis.

The Glen Eden Community Protection Society has filed an application in the High Court to have the council's decision on the Oates Rd site reviewed. The society may also seek an injunction to stop the development going ahead until the issue can be resolved.

"We are not against state housing, but we would like to see our retail area preserved," said society spokeswoman Gayle Marshall.

In an attempt to appease the residents, Morningstar last week applied for a second resource consent, altering the development to allow for a medical centre near the terraced state housing. But the company is unlikely to go ahead with the plan as the council has invited public submissions on it.

A Morningstar representative could not be contacted for comment.

Mr Cunliffe said Housing New Zealand was considering a mediation meeting, to include residents, the council and the developers, to resolve the issue. He said residents were likely to support a development that included fewer houses, retail shops, parking and a medical centre.