Kerikeri meeting to air concerns about aged-care complex

Arvida's general manager development Jonathan Ash and development manager Andre Lipa at the site of a planned retirement village at the end of Hall Rd in Kerikeri. Photo / Peter de Graaf

An Auckland-based aged care company planning a $130 million retirement village at the end of a quiet Kerikeri street has pledged to contribute to the cost of upgrading the road.

In August this year Arvida announced it had bought an 18ha orchard on Hall Rd and was planning to build a retirement complex catering for about 340 people in 200 villas and serviced apartments and 60-80 care beds.

The plan has, however, sparked concern among Hall Rd residents, in particular about traffic safety during construction. Hall Rd is narrow, has no footpaths and minimal berms, but is home to a number of families with young children.

Earlier this month Arvida executives visited Kerikeri to hear residents' concerns in a meeting chaired by Far North District Council services manager Dean Myburgh.

Responding to questions from Hall Rd resident and former Green MP David Clendon about road safety — particularly with 8000cu m of aggregate needing to be trucked on to the site — Arvida's general manager of development Jonathan Ash said the company realised improvements to Hall Rd would be required.

''We've had consultants look at the road, they have identified that the road will be too narrow for the next stage of development [when house building starts]. There are a lot of other properties slated for residential development on Hall Rd so we don't expect to have to pay for everything that needs to happen, though we're definitely prepared to contribute,'' Ash said.

However, because the Far North District Council did not charge development contributions, another kind of arrangement would have to be found.

''We've put to the council that we'd like to enter into discussions over a development agreement ... We need to talk to them about various infrastructure to be provided as a result of our development, the road would be one of them.''

Other concerns raised by residents included the effects on aquatic life in a stream running across the land, earthworks dust settling on neighbouring orchards, an archaeological site (a taro pit) in the middle of a planned roadway, and whether resource consents would be publicly notified (that has yet to be decided by the Northland Regional and Far North District councils).

Keith Williams, whose property adjoins Arvida's land, wanted an undertaking of compensation if a much larger culvert worsened flooding and washed away his bridge.

Ash told him the proposed new culvert and weir could in fact reduce his flooding problems.

The land around Hall Rd was zoned residential so sooner or later someone would come along and develop it, Ash said.

''It shouldn't come as a surprise. It's just we're the first cab off the rank for this piece of land,'' he said.

After the meeting Ash said residents' concerns were real but would be addressed through the ''very robust'' Resource Management Act process.

''We do want to be good neighbours and good community citizens and we think we will provide benefit to Kerikeri. We're not just a corporate developer coming in, making a whole lot of houses, selling them off, and getting out as soon as we can with our profits. We're here for the long term,'' he said.

Earlier in the day council staff, Arvida bosses, Mayor John Carter and his deputy Tania McInnes took a tour of Kerikeri's existing aged-care facilities at Kerikeri Retirement Village, Oakridge Villas and Quail Ridge.