Development at the Havelock North Holiday Park is gathering momentum. Photo / Paul Taylor
Development at the Havelock North Holiday Park is gathering momentum. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Hastings District Council (HDC) believes it is not setting a precedent in approving the development of the Havelock North Holiday Park.
Over a period of months, the HDC have been economical with information provided to Hawke’s Bay Today about the holiday park - at 112 and 114 Havelock Road- which will include 10 additional cabins, two toilet blocks and a swimming pool, among other new amenities.
In approving the development, the HDC noted that land at the addresses already contained holiday accommodation, along with the Off The Track restaurant. More buildings, therefore, would not fundamentally change the existing use of the land.
The land is zoned for plains production and theoretically protected by the National Policy Statement - Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL), which took effect in October last year.
Sizeable properties on either side of the Havelock North Holiday Park are for sale, with their value dependent on what the land can be used for. If it can be developed for residential use, for instance, it will be worth a lot more.
In their application to develop 112 and 114 Havelock Road, Svarn and Shelley Cresswell cited the precedent of properties to the south and west of theirs that had already been developed.
The new Havelock North Holiday Park is taking shape. Photo / Paul Taylor
In earlier statements made to Hawke’s Bay Today, the HDC indicated any new buildings at 112 and 114 Havelock Road would not be built on concrete slabs, which would enable easy removal should the land return to pastoral use.
However, the toilet blocks, for example, will be erected on concrete.
The only sticking point now is the addition of six cabins that are due to be relocated from the Hastings Top 10 Holiday Park.
Approval was granted by the HDC for the cabins, provided they were new. The developers now want to install cabins that are 18 to 24 months old.
Consent for that has not yet been provided but, assuming it is, the Havelock North Holiday Park will face no other impediments to its progress.
Shelley Cresswell told Hawke’s Bay Today she would not like to comment on the development until it is further advanced, while the HDC maintains this is not the start of widespread development along this parcel of land between Hastings and Havelock North - although it is understood that any future applications to alter land use along Havelock Road would be judged on their individual merits.
Approval for the development of the Havelock North Holiday Park was granted by the HDC on September 14, 2022, meaning it is not subject to the NPS-HPL. That statement classified the land along Havelock Road as being at the very top of its scale for productivity.
