Ambitious plans to create a $150 million world-class marine industry precinct at Hobsonville near a vast new housing estate have met with a limp reception.

Judges Bay beach is a wonderful place to go now that the council has refurbished it but there are many dogs on the beach.

A proposal for a private helipad on the Spencer estate beside the Waitemata Harbour has drawn 129 objections.

The Auckland Council is sitting on secret documents used to draw up a new planning rulebook for the city and instructed its top lawyer to keep them hidden from the public.

The owners of a house where a deck collapsed, sending about 20 people and a hot barbecue plummeting to the ground, say it was lucky no one was killed.

In a sign of the discontent spreading across many suburbs, residents are now mobilising to save their homes, sunlight and views against plans for intensification in the new unitary plan.

Traffic engineering is probably the only realistic solution to Auckland's congestion, writes John Roughan. "The busway, like the bridge, is fine."

The desire of both National and Labour to rule Auckland directly is clear to see, writes Tony Holman.

"Why should under-25s, with nothing but a desire for a romantic stroll in the park, be driven out for nothing more than the crime of having acute hearing?" asks Brian Rudman.

The Auckland Council is sticking to a tight timetable on a new planning rulebook, despite claims it is a rushed process and misgivings about high-rise apartments and infill housing on more than half of the city's residential land.

A controversial decision to cap Orewa and Browns Bay apartment living heights at four storeys is up for review during debate of Auckland Council's new planning rule book.

At the end of Hugo Johnson Drive, just about opposite the old Southdown Freezing Works site and the co-gen facility, there is an odd little "park".

A former council call centre operator has been charged with milking more than $43,000 from more than 80 customers' credit cards.

A graveside sweep of cherished mementoes has cost more than $45,000 to put right.

Business is a bit of a struggle for Karen and Don Tanner. They have run their electroplating firm for 35 years but, faced with increased competition from cheap imports, struggled to make a $3000 profit last year.

A young Auckland councillor has posted on his Facebook page a link to a blog containing personal attacks on critics of the city council's new planning rulebook.

Auckland Council will test water running off a new artificial sports field after fears were raised that a layer made from recycled car tyres leached toxic chemicals.

Intensification isn't just about getting more height; it's about being smarter with what we have, writes Rob Hutchison.

Auckland Council has handed a map to the Milford Residents Association and urged it to have a go at drawing an appropriate location for higher-density housing.

Six major retailers are decrying the unitary plan, accusing Auckland Council of trying to design shops and force everyone on to public transport.

Red tape is about to take the spice out of the ethnic food served up to thousands of Aucklanders each year, say some festival operators.

A new rulebook that sets out to build high-rise apartments and turn rural land into housing is becoming a tough ask for Auckland Mayor Len Brown and his deputy Penny Hulse.

House buyers and sellers are more protected from dodgy agent dealings than before.

When Gaylene Mackereth left her home in Howick on a trip to the beach with her granddaughter recently, she paid a bit more attention than usual to the houses they passed.

With more than 50,000 people living in Auckland's CBD, it's no longer just the retailers and the businesses being inconvenienced, writes Brian Rudman.

Auckland house prices are predicted to rise a further 12 per cent over the next year, with the nationwide average jumping almost $40,000 by the end of the year.

A former Takapuna Grammar student, who migrated from Malaysia 12 years ago, has just completed one of this year's biggest commercial property deals.