Town plan pushes city's urban limits

A new $1.2 billion town centre is being planned for West Auckland by a developer who wants the city's urban limits pushed out to allow his project to go ahead.

IMF Westland's Mark Gunton wants the Auckland Regional Council to let Waitakere City expand its western boundaries so he can begin building on a 40ha site at the end of the North-western Motorway.

The site is across Hobsonville Rd from the existing Westgate Shopping Centre and adjoins the proposed extensions of State Highway 16 and State Highway 18.

Before the developer can begin earthworks, Waitakere City Council's application to expand the city's urban limits must be approved by the ARC.

The Metropolitan Urban Limit is a ring round the city's growth but in the past five years, no council application for it to be pushed outwards has been turned down.

ARC regional development manager Noel Reardon said applications had been granted to expand limits at Flat Bush, Hingaia Peninsula and Takanini.

Hearings into Waitakere's application would begin early next year, he said.

The ARC's submission date on the Waitakere limit expansion closes at the end of this month and Mr Gunton is drumming up support for the change.

He wants Waitakere people to have work opportunities closer to home.

"In a city where 60 per cent of the workforce has to commute elsewhere each day to work, the environmental, social and economic benefits of this change will be significant."

Waitakere was a dormitory area, servicing the wider needs of Auckland and not looking after itself.

In the past few years, IMF Westland has amalgamated many land titles to form its 40ha block fronting Hobsonville Rd.

It already owns the 40,000 sq m Westgate centre and is expanding this by another 5000 sq m.

In March, Waitakere applied to the ARC for consent to expand the city limit by 537ha in Hobsonville and Massey North areas. About 130ha of that land in the application is earmarked for business.

Waitakere City Council development chairwoman Penny Hulse said the council wanted major town centres developed at Westgate and New Lynn to provide jobs. She said it remained to be seen whether other developers would follow IMF Westland.

The plan

* IMF Westland's 10-year masterplan for a new western town centre:
* 100,000 sq m retail shopping centre, more than twice the size of Westgate.
* A residential hub with at least 1500 apartments.
* Offices and light industrial areas where up to 10,000 people could work.
* A traditional-looking town, laid out in grid format with town square.
* Reserves, community and natural areas.