A company planning the Far North's biggest retirement village has crossed the first hoop by securing resource consents for earthworks and discharge of stormwater to land.
The Northland Regional Council has granted earthwork consents for the construction of access roads, building platforms, culvert and related activities on Hall Rd in Kerikeri.
Aged-care firm Arvida wants to build a $120 million retirement village on 18ha of land at the end of the narrow dead-end road. The village would house about 340 people in 200 villas and apartments plus another 80 in a care facility.
Auckland-based Arvida has promised to widen Hall Rd and install a footpath to allay residents' concerns about traffic safety on their road after it reached an agreement with the Far North District Council in June.
The agreement followed concerns by residents of Hall Rd, which is 5m wide with open drains and no footpaths or verges, that large number of trucks expected during construction would put pedestrians - children especially - in danger.