A subdivision for 60 houses at Helensville is being criticised by youth lobby group Generation Zero as a bad case of urban sprawl and costly for ratepayers.
Confidential Auckland Council minutes released under the Official Information Act to the lobby group show councillors approved a subdivision of farmland on the outskirts of the rural town against official advice.
The land is at Rautawhiri Rd and part of a 15ha block that John Dare, on behalf of Hounslow Holdings Ltd, applied to have made a special housing area under a joint council-government fast-track process to increase the city's housing stock.
Documents show officials advised against housing on the land, saying it posed a flooding risk, was outside the area for water services and there was little development potential for Helensville.
The Auckland development committee agreed with the advice on April 2 this year, but a motion by Rodney councillor Penny Webster to approve the submission was passed 12-6 at the governing body on May 1. Mrs Webster said the original proposal was a subdivision of about 300 houses, which she did not support, but she supported a subsequent plan for 60 houses and "no more".
