Park plans face strong opposition

The fate of one of the largest chunks of untouched coastal land in metropolitan Auckland will be decided at a marathon planning hearing which starts today.

The 10-day public hearing of the North Shore City Council's plan to allow a mixture of housing and reserves on 200ha at Long Bay has drawn more than 10,000 submissions.

Most oppose the council's structure plan and plead for the block to be merged with Long Bay Regional Park to form a 400ha "Great Park".

Plan critics say six-storey apartment blocks will be seen from the seaside park which, at 26km from central Auckland, is the region's busiest and is popular for walking, swimming and picnics.

But council planners have revised the plan for 1700 dwellings in response to public comments.

One move could help to soften the sight of buildings in the park's backdrop of green slopes.

About half the housing area will be for townhouses and apartments clustered in the lower part of the valley, around the edge of a central green corridor.

But the new plan shows that an area that was to be for three-storey apartments has become a heritage-protection area. This follows protests from Maori and the Auckland Regional Council that houses would go on archaeological sites.

It is against the law to destroy or modify the sites. Under the Historic Places Act, both the council and the developer are obliged to protect the area's cultural heritage.

Land owner Landco will fight against losing potential prime sites and will produce a revised structure plan of its own as an alternative.

This proposal pulls back development from one side of the upper catchment to avoid clearing bush.

But in other backdrop areas the company wants higher housing densities rather than the council's preference for large lots.

Land war

* The development plan will see up to 1700 new dwellings, including areas of high-density housing, shops and a retirement village, go up on hills behind the present regional park.

* Detractors say it will ruin the park's serene rural backdrop.

* Opposition group the Long Bay-Okura Great Park Society wants the land to be amalgamated into a park to preserve it for future generations.

* The hearing will also consider objections from the Auckland Regional Council, which says the land has far more archaeological sites than the North Shore City Council has taken into account.