Urban ghetto on the horizon?

Swanson neighbours prepare for yet another battle over the controversial Penihana scheme. Hayley Hannan reports.
Tucked behind Swanson train station lies rolling farmland. Horses graze on land at the heart of an eight-year battle between residents, developers and Auckland Council.
The Neil Group and partners want to turn Penihana's 22.5ha into a 300-house suburb. Paul Robinson and local residents argue this is too many for a quiet farm area.
"[A high amount of houses] will turn the area into an urban ghetto. Swanson is a rural area, and the infrastructure can't handle that many houses."
Over 28 years, Mr Robinson has watched development creep across the village. He's in the Preserve the Swanson Foothills Society - locals arguing the land should be divided into sections triple the proposed size, with an outer buffer zone.
The Aucklander has reported on the issue over the years, and the struggle as Plan Change 32 emerged this year. This proposes 300 homes, and submissions were collected over the past two months. A hearing on the submission will be set in December (see sidebar).
Penihana is unique land. One boundary is covered by the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Act; another boundary abuts Swanson railway station. There is a cluster of houses in Swanson but, mostly, it is farmland. There's one school, one RSA, a cafe and a small string of shops along the main road.
Neil Group's chief executive officer, Grant Brebner, disagrees with concerns. He says the housing development will satisfy the area's growing population and support local businesses. As for the lots, Mr Brebner says the council chose the size.
"The Neil Group would have been satisfied with larger lot sizes in the medium density area but both the Auckland Regional Council and Waitakere City Council, now of course the Auckland Council, required the density provided in the Plan change because of the proximity to the train station," he explains.
The council earmarked the piece of land to expand residential Swanson 10 years ago. Penny Pirrit, Auckland Council regional and local planning manager, says the double-tracked railway, the proximity to Swanson Village and the station "provide the area with good public transport connections and amenities".
The plot thickens when you add the former Auckland Regional Council. The former council argued the land was too close to the protected area, making it unsuitable. Paul Walbran, former regional council planning and strategy committee chairman, says it was decided the "prospective density was not appropriate in view of the location of the area".
He says many additional factors make the area unsuitable: the land is cut off by the railway line, there's little infrastructure, social services, sports fields, recreation or education amenities. However, some form of development on the site is inevitable now the land's been included in the Metropolitan Urban Limit (see sidebar).
As Mr Robinson explains, it has become "a matter of how it is developed". Residents want to be included in the process and are not afraid to go back to the Environment Court.
Twists
The legal story of the land is windy and often confusing, one The Aucklander has told as it has unfolded .
The idea for development was first floated in 2002 in the Swanson Structure plan, proposing to turn farmland into housing. Residents retaliated, saying this would put 200 houses where only 20 should be.
Sixteen months of mediation and a four-year battle in the Environment Court followed.
The court's final decision in 2009 allowed housing, although less than originally asked for.
In 2008, 17.5ha of land became protected under the Waitakere Ranges Act, halving the size of the proposed development.
In October, the remaining land became urban under the Metropolitan Urban Limit.and the former Waitakere City Council opened Plan Change 32 for submissions, which is now closed.
Information sheets explaining the district plan changes show drawings of one main, medium-density, housing area, and three small, low-density areas.
Auckland Council will decide on December 16 whether the council or local boards will hold hearings on the issue.