Westfield wants to double St Lukes

Westfield hopes to make its St Lukes mall in Mt Albert, Auckland, the biggest in the country. Photo / Supplied

Westfield NZ has applied to have land rezoned so it can double the size of Auckland's St Lukes mall.

Independent commissioners have been hearing evidence this week on the application.

The mall would become the country's largest, if Australian-based Westfield is allowed to rezone land it bought on the perimeter and develops its site to the maximum.

Indoor floor space could be expanded to 9.2ha, eclipsing the 7ha Sylvia Park complex in Mt Wellington and Westfield Albany, which is also around 7ha.

Westfield owns much of the housing around its St Lukes mall where it wants to build out to the north and east.

The mall is now 4.5ha with a Foodtown, Kmart, 127 specialty shops, five banks, a 644-seat food court with nine food outlets, a 1640-seat multiplex cinema and 2018 carparks.

Westfield's expansion plans could see buildings flow north towards Exeter Rd and east towards Aroha Ave on sites the shopping giant has gradually bought.

Vaughan Smith, a director of planning consultants Bentley & Co, presented evidence showing he had been involved with Westfield since 1990. The plan change being sought would allow the expansion of the centre in a co-ordinated manner, he said.

New buildings would have an outward focus and active street frontages, he said. A main-street type of expansion along Exeter Rd and a link to Aroha Ave would form a new "town centre focus for the community".

The library and Citizens Advice Bureau would be shifted to that new main street linking Exeter Rd with Aroha Ave, he said.

But people also presented evidence against Westfield.

Will McKenzie, who lives in Sandringham's Kenneth Ave, outlined a number of concerns.

"The contentious issue is the road they want to put through to Aroha Ave, which is now a quiet street. The road is needed to cater for the additional traffic generated by the expansion.

"Westfield plans for St Lukes to be intensified by 105 per cent. This is a very significant level of development, given the centre's location in a suburban area," Mr McKenzie said. He also cited concerns over building heights, visual amenity and shading.

Houses would lose sun, the area would be dominated by a much taller mall and traffic would be an issue, he said.

Mr McKenzie presented a series of articles from the Herald on Westfield's defeat in Newmarket.

There, it wanted to build on the Mercury Energy site but abandoned that in favour of expanding 277. After large-scale demolition of buildings between 277 and Gillies Ave, work there ceased.

Mr McKenzie said Westfield had a commitment to more community consultation.

"However, in this case, the community was not consulted," he said of its plans at St Lukes.

"Malls are common and extremely popular," he said.

"My view is that shopping malls, like other common and popular things such as alcohol, fast food and poker machines, should be supplied only with care and used in moderation."