Auckland Housing estate gets go-ahead

Approval for the development was given about four months after the application was lodged. Photo / Thinkstock

Auckland's largest new housing estate has planning approval.

David Oakhill, Auckland Council's team manager of central resource consents, said consent had been granted for Mt Wellington's Springpark.

Tony Gapes of Redwood Group is behind the scheme on a 10.5ha site at 33 Panama Rd where 420 terraced homes and three to four-storey apartments can rise.

Five pocket parks and a larger park with a small block of shops are planned.

Oakhill said the development was designed and promoted as affordable housing and the decision to grant resource consent was made by commissioners after a notification process and hearing.

Approval was given about four months after the application was lodged, he said.

"This is a significant achieve-ment, given the size and scale of the development," Oakhill said.

But neighbours were strongly opposed, citing fears about rats, traffic, overcrowding, pollution, noise, pohutukawa removal, monotonous buildings, contamination, dust, grime and smells.

They worried about a lack of parking for residents at the huge new estate now being sold off the plans, thought the plans should have been more widely notified and said the scale and look of Springpark was out of character with the area.

Springpark places are being marketed from $320,000 to $550,000.