A drawing of Amberfield subdivision in the Peacocke suburb on the west bank of the Waikato River. Image/ Hamilton City Council
A drawing of Amberfield subdivision in the Peacocke suburb on the west bank of the Waikato River. Image/ Hamilton City Council
A new subdivision in Hamilton's Peacocke neighbourhood has been given the green light by the Environment Court to deliver new homes and protect the environment in the area.
The Amberfield development has received a resource consent for 830 residential sections stretching across a 109ha site between Peacocke's Rd and the Waikato River.
It will feature a mixture of medium-density housing types, town centre, and a range of environmental protections for the native flora and fauna in the area.
Peacocke is the most recent area of land that will undergo development to help with Hamilton's growing population. Photo / Supplied
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate said the developers had worked alongside the city council to provide a well laid-out subdivision and generous open spaces for people who will live there.
"Peacocke has been in the pipeline for Hamilton for more than 30 years and I'm thrilled to see it getting traction so we can deliver new homes for our city. But it's more than just building houses. The developers have also prioritised parks, playgrounds, and walking and cycling paths and we need all those things to create happy and strong communities."
The consent reinforced the importance of environmental enhancement, she said.
"The Environment Court process was working through how to protect our endangered long-tailed bats. Peacocke has always been a huge opportunity for the city to invest in our environment. In fact, it's one of the city's biggest ever environmental investments in terms of tree planting and gully restoration. So, I'm excited to see this now starting to happen."
A concept drawing of a path for pedestrians and cyclists on top of gully bridge as part of the wastewater pipe network in Peacocke. Image / Supplied
The consent includes conditions around the type of lighting and planting used to protect bat habitat and travel corridors, gully and riverbank restoration, and a generous park and open space network.
Independent commissioners initially approved the resource consent in late 2019, but several conditions were appealed by both the developer Weston Lea Ltd and the Department of Conservation in the Environment Court.
Southgate said she was pleased an agreement between key parties has been reached so they could get on with the job.
Hamilton City Council expects to complete essential infrastructure including a new river bridge, transport network, and wastewater connections in mid-2023, with the first housing in Amberfield, expected the following year.
The council Peacocke transport plan would see 2km of off-road paths, two gully crossing bridges with connection to existing shared paths in Sandford Park. Photo / Supplied
Peacocke is being built with the support from the Government's Housing Infrastructure Fund, made up of a $180.3 million 10-year interest-free loan and $110.1m of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency subsidies.
The Peacocke programme will deliver a new bridge, a transport network that caters to public transport, pedestrians and cyclists, parks, and strategic water, wastewater and stormwater networks.
Other work includes protecting and enhancing the environment, including the extensive gully system, opening the area to the Waikato River, and investigating community facilities which are also important parts of creating a new community in Peacocke.
The new bridge over the Waikato River is now being built will connect with the new Peacocke suburb. Photo / Supplied
When completed, Peacocke will be home for up to 20,000 Hamiltonians.
