Property developer Helen O'Sullivan says Unitary Plan will greatly help solve Auckland's housing crisis by enabling developers to build mid-priced housing.

The names of two men caught up in local body election dramas this week will remain on the ballot.

A block of art deco-style flats in central Auckland have kept heritage protection in a new planning rulebook for the city.

Auckland Council says 25 names were left off its candidate list for the upcoming local elections due to an "administrative oversight".

COMMENT: After the machines have gone, will life return to the Queen St Canyon?

The man leading the Auckland Council's Unitary Plan is basking in the sun at the Rio Olympics while his colleagues are ploughing through the details.

Auckland councillors yesterday farewelled the days of traditional single houses for a new era featuring apartment living.

There are 17 people in the running for the Auckland Council's top job.

Unless last-minute candidates step up today, many councils cannot fill positions.

Four new candidates have joined the Auckland Council mayoralty race, with less than 24 hours to go until nominations close.

Auckland councillors have relaxed rules to make it easier for developers to build houses outside the rural urban boundary.

A meeting to make final decisions on a new blueprint for Auckland took a major twist this morning when members of the Maori Statutory Board opted out of the process.

COMMENT: Let's hope this election we might see some long-standing or well-known names step down and some new brooms.

The report of the Independent Hearings Panel on the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan injected a good dose of realism into the plan.

A family trust that wants to allow housing on a South Auckland volcano says the housing could be around $500,000-$700,000 - aimed at low- and middle-income earners.

Council officers release "major policy shifts" to the latest draft of the Unitary Plan.

A proposal to build homes on one of Auckland's most prized volcanoes looks set to be rejected by Auckland councillors.

A smoking ban in open spaces, such as footpaths, civic squares and beaches, is to be investigated by Auckland Council.

COMMENT: There's a cargo cult hysteria erupting over the magical cure-all abilities of Auckland Council's proposed unitary plan.

Regulation is hard to get right. The political climate tends to swing from excessive freedom to excessive restriction or vice versa.

Auckland Council is not saying if it holds investments in soft drink, alcohol and tobacco companies only days after it purged fizzy drinks at its leisure centres.

A new council regulation requiring charter boats to have a liquor licence will create a dangerous "pub-like" environment when they are docked.

Shoebox apartments could be back in Auckland after they were banned in 2007.

Labour MP and mayoral candidate Phil Goff says he supports the overall thrust of the Auckland Unitary Plan.

A huge jump in more intensive housing permitted in central Auckland may be the breakthrough frustrated first home buyers have been looking for.

Minimum dwelling sizes, density limits and other development controls have been deleted from the new recommended rulebook for Auckland.

A couple who moved from London to raise their young family in New Zealand are "devastated" by the latest plan.

Auckland has made heavy weather of its plain need for dense development.

Watch NZ Herald Focus: Auckland's Unitary Plan is the new rulebook telling people what can be built where and how high. Aucklanders will be able to go the Auckland Council website, type in their address and find out what the or Unitary Planmeans for them.