Sue Newton looks at the new fence that has been put at the back of her property. Photo / Melissa Nightingale
Sue Newton looks at the new fence that has been put at the back of her property. Photo / Melissa Nightingale
The towering fences put up around a Lower Hutt subdivision will be shortened for concerned neighbours, within reason.
Fences have been erected around the new housing development in Avalon, which left nearby residents feeling like they were living behind "prison walls", according to one man.
The land in the development site had been raised, meaning the new fences were built from the new land height, rather than the height of the existing properties, leaving them looming high above many of the existing fences.
Residents of Taita Drive, Percy Cameron St and De Menech Grove own houses backing on to the development section, meaning they are affected by the works going on at the site.
About 30 of them showed up at a meeting with the Hutt City Council and developer Rudy van Baarle last night to air their concerns.
Van Baarle told residents the fences will be shortened due to each person's "individual wishes" as long as some consistency of height with other fences can be maintained.
"We understand what they're doing now and we have a path to agreement," said David Wilson, whose mother Ann Wilson lives at a house in De Menech Grove.
Ann Wilson yesterday said she would feel "bloody closed in" when the fence at the back of her property was completed.
At the moment large posts have been put in place that extend above the gutters of her house, but she has been assured these will be cut shorter.
David Wilson said they were told last night the finished fence might be about 300mm higher than her existing fence, which would alleviate worries about the loss of sunlight.
He believed van Baarle's team had "ballsed up" their communications with residents, causing "fear of the unknown" among residents.
Ann Wilson has been told the finished fence may be about 300mm higher than her existing fence. Photo / Melissa Nightingale
"I think a lot of it was laid to rest last night," he said.
Another resident, who did not want to be named, felt the meeting was "just a PR exercise".
"Rudy piped up and said we will look at cutting back some fence height." he said, adding that fences would still need to be a fairly uniform height.
"It's just another example of him saying one thing and 'by the way it depends, there's a catch to it'.
"Rudy trying to say people are happy, that's bollocks."
He said everyone he had spoken to didn't object to a subdivision being put in place but did not like the amount of houses being put into the 1.305ha section.
Ann Wilson also said the number of houses being put in would make for cosy living situations.
"They are cramming 32 in there, I reckon you could just about lean out your window and shake hands with your neighbour if that's the case," she said.
The net site areas average just over 300 square metres in size, with the dwelling sizes ranging from 106.2 to 165.2 square metres, according to the approved resource consent.
While some residents still feel unsure about how high above them the new houses will be and what the end result will be with the fences, van Baarle said many misunderstandings were cleared up at the meeting.
"It went very well and I have reassured all the residents that all their concerns will be met independently," he said.
"What they want done will be done."
He earlier told the Herald the land had been raised because they were required by council to do so to combat potential flooding and drainage issues in the new subdivision.
Residents were also worried about the effect of the development on their properties, believing it could cause problems with seepage and flooding.
Van Baarle said engineers had been consulted to make sure stormwater drainage was adequately dealt with.
Council's divisional manager for environmental consents, Helen Oram, attended the meeting.
"At the meeting the developer noted that the fences have not been levelled off yet," she said.
"The property developer understands the fencing requirements as outlined in the District Plan and his resource consent and offered to meet with individual property owners if they had any concerns.
"HCC is pleased that the developer is working with residents and he continues to co-operate with the council.
"If members of the public have any concerns about developments and whether rules have been breached dedicated HCC compliance officers investigate straight away, after visiting the site."
She said interventions being put in place by the developer, including a large pipe in the roadway and drainage in the bottom of the retaining wall would prevent any new flooding for existing houses.
