A pole house subdivision in the foothills of the Waitakere Ranges has been turned down by the Environment Court in a decision being hailed as a victory for conservation.
The rejection of the plan comes after last week's warning from the country's top environmental watchdog that the ranges face "death by a thousand cuts" if they are not protected from development.
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Morgan Williams said the ranges were in danger of becoming a "form of suburbia" by the end of this century, after he was called in to investigate subdivision rules in West Auckland.
Waitakere Ranges Protection Society president John Edgar said the group was pleased its challenge to the subdivision had been upheld.
"Basically the court has said you can't mess with a little bit of the ranges without affecting the whole."
Mr Edgar said 250 people had signed a petition to stop the development.
Developer Rick Eggink planned to build pole houses on his 6.9ha bush-clad site, bordered by Rimutaka Place and the Waituna Stream.
Each house was to be linked to a suspended wooden driveway to protect the forest floor and avoid damaging trees and forest.
Domestic cats would have been banned and sewage and stormwater services would have been suspended from the driveway.
In its decision, the Environment Court said it sympathised with Mr Eggink, who had paid a price for the land reflecting its potential for subdivision.
Waitakeres subdivision rejected
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