Lifestylers keen to jump fence to North Shore

Ross Craig says residents and ratepayers are not happy the Rodney council has allowed the cleanfill. Pictures / Paul Estcourt

Residents of southeastern Rodney want to come under the wing of the neighbouring North Shore City Council to save their rural lifestyle.

Stung by Rodney District councillors' acceptance of a new cleanfill in their midst, the residents are calling for a boundary change on the border of the two councils.

Their petition has 153 signatures from voters in East Coast Rd, Haigh Access Rd, Albany Heights Rd, Wright Rd, Lonely Track Rd, Rodeo Drive and John Brian Drive.

That is more than enough support, say Rodney council officials, to warrant both councils considering a boundary adjustment or referring it to the Local Government Commission.

Rodney will receive the petition on Thursday and city councillors get it next month.

Breakaway promoter Ron Burr said about 280 homes with about 650 residents were in the target area.

He had time only to reach 60 per cent of them with the petition.

"Once I explained the reasons, people were behind us.

"There are $1.5 million homes on some of those properties and we pay a substantial amount of rates.

"Being part of the city will give us more value for our rates."

A resident for 30 years, he said Rodney facilities were too far away and he used those in the city.

Albany had become the shopping and commercial centre for south Rodney residents and they had more of a community of interest with the city than with Silverdale, the closest Rodney centre.

Mr Burr said the residents were on the fringes of the Orewa-based Rodney council district and their nearest councillor lived 14km away.

"We are the lost sheep - we have no voice on council."

The southeast Rodney homes are in the Okura River catchment, part of the "green belt" - a girdle of countryside which the Auckland Regional Council is trying to defend as a buffer against urban sprawl at Albany and Silverdale/Orewa.

"We want to stay part of the green belt," said Mr Burr. "We don't want to be staring at roof tops." He said the green belt suffered as a result of the councils' conflicting policies.

Last year Rodney granted consent for a cleanfill off Bawdens Rd but the North Shore council opposed it, as did the chairman of the South East Rodney Residents and Ratepayers Association, Ross Craig.

Mr Craig said the association felt let down by Rodney council over allowing the cleanfill but it was taking a neutral stance on the petition.

This was because the association covered a wider area than just the Okura catchment and jumping the border was not necessarily in the interest of all members.

One of the nearest Rodney councillors to Okura, Colin MacGillivray, said the boundary shift was a move worth exploring.

Jumping ship

Why they want to switch councils:

* Protection of the "green belt".

* Ban on cleanfills in bush valleys.

* Focus on city life and facilities.

* Value for rates dollar.

* Stronger voice in council decisions.