Residents unhappy at Orakei changes

The hotly debated development for the coastal Orakei headland is going to a public plan change with residents far from happy with the scale of its buildings and the effect its traffic will have on busy Orakei Rd.

And the game of musical chairs over architects for the project continues. Patterson Architects was mysteriously replaced with Leuschke Architects in May; now Andrew Patterson and Jasmax are back on board, and Colin Leuschke has been replaced.

Orakei Residents' Society president Warren Tuohey said the 700-member group hoped to resolve issues with the Orakei masterplan before it went to a public plan change, but to no avail.

He said there were considerable concerns about the height of buildings, a cone-like park rising from Orakei Rd to screen development, an increase in the gross floor area from 73,000sq m to 84,000sq m and the number of apartments increasing from 677 to more than 700.

"It is patently clear that the development will have a major impact on traffic congestion along Orakei Rd and the surrounding roading network.

"Given that the council is partner in this development it is difficult to obtain impartial objectivity from them and they continue to proceed despite the clear opposition of the community," Mr Tuohey said.

City development chairman and local Hobson councillor Aaron Bhatnagar said the latest masterplan was a significant improvement over the original proposal last year by developer Tony Gapes and Jasmax Architects, including two 13-storey towers that he labelled a "Shanghai surprise".

He said the public would have the opportunity to view the masterplan in detail and make submissions which would be heard by independent commissioners.