Govt snub over project irks Mayor

Waitakere City Council is smarting over a Government snub to its role in the big housing project at the former Hobsonville Air Base.

It says that at a "turning of the sod" ceremony for starting the first stage of 660 houses, credit for the showpiece of urban planning was hijacked by Housing New Zealand's offshoot, the Hobsonville Land Company.

The company claimed the Crown that led the planning and delivery of the redevelopment in partnership with Australian-listed company AV Jennings.

That outraged Mayor Bob Harvey, who was not given a speaking role at the ceremony.

"We've worked for 10 years on this," he said later. "Waitakere led the way ... it made this project happen ... moving heaven and hell. Getting it under way is a landmark achievement for this council and this city."

Sitting at the controls of a digger, Housing Minister Phil Heatley said he was proud to be launching one of the first public-private partnerships of a serious scale in the country.

Mr Heatley said the Crown-led development would stimulate the local economy by using local builders, suppliers and services.

"Our challenge is to ensure development of a high-quality environment at Hobsonville Pt," added partnership chairman and land company board member Richard Didsbury.

When the Government said in 2000 that it would sell the base, Mr Harvey and the council hoped to convert the area for housing, parks and a centre for super yacht building.

Mr Harvey said the council was instrumental in ensuring a development plan was drawn up after Housing New Zealand acquired a 160ha site in 2002.

In March, the council approved the first stage in a development which aims for 3000 homes, shops, schools, daycare facilities and public areas.

Council sources said it acted to avoid a situation where the Crown could have sold off the base in pieces to private developers.

The result would have been a $20 million bill to ratepayers to provide infrastructure services for developers.