Change is brewing in Titirangi Village - and locals are not happy about it. Rowena Orejana finds out more.
Toby Liddell sits outside the Hardware Cafe in Titirangi Village in the afternoon sun.
"The cafe is the centre of the village's social life," he says, looking around. "It was a hardware
store for a long time."
Mr Liddell worked for Auckland Regional Council for 15 years as an internal consultant concerned with strategic planning and making policy. He's lived in the area for 38 years and his current home is a 100-year-old cottage.
The atmosphere is easy-going. The sidewalk is strewn with tables and chairs. Across the street is a secondhand bookstore and down the road is Lopdell House, Waitakere City's Regional Art Gallery, which began its life in 1930 as a hotel.
Change is in the air, however, as Waitakere City Council considers the future look of the village. It plans to allow the construction of new buildings with "a high standard of urban design".
These well-put together buildings may be two storeys high - with a limited opportunity for three-storey buildings.
Mr Liddell says there was consultation last month but he's still not happy.
"My whole beef with the council is if the people are going to be consulted, they should be consulted before any decisions are made."
Residents oppose building multi-storey buildings in a residential area and removing public toilets at the end of the road, he says.
"People are suddenly shocked that they are going to build there. They are supposed to
consult with the people," he says.
Council public affairs manager Glyn Walters says consultation is still going on regarding the long-term community plan for Titirangi, known as Plan Change 37.
The three-storey building is a separate issue that has been drawn into the debate about the plan change.
"There are two separate but related issues here," says Mr Walters.
"The consent application for the multi-level building in Titirangi was filed with council early in 2009."
He explains that once a resource consent is filed, the council must follow due process.
The development was approved by an independent commissioner, but this decision is now being appealed through the Environment Court.
Mr Liddell says the problem is that the council is trying to impose urban design on what is essentially a rural village.
"A village is not designed for town planners," he says.
The town centre has character which may be lost in the development of the area.
"It's a particular community here.
"It's not exactly that we want things to stay exactly the way they were. We welcome changes, but just not too radical."
What can you do about it?
Submissions for Plan Change 37 opened on February 10 and close on March 12. Here,
residents have formal input into the future development of Titirangi.
See www.waitakere.govt.nz or ph 839 0400.
