The court foresaw the need for a structure plan to be prepared as the basis for a subsequent plan change and specific zoning provisions. This has not happened.
Instead of a structure plan, which offers careful consideration of all the land's values, the council has agreed to the Wallace Block's becoming a Special Housing Area (SHA) which fast tracks development.
The council seems to have thrown away the one concession it gained. One has to ask how much consideration Auckland councillors gave to the matter or was it just a glance from a bus, so to speak. On the face of it, their behaviour seems contradictory.
One could also ask how much due diligence Fletcher Building, the subsequent buyer of the Wallace Block, gave to its acquisition in view of the lands litigated and disputed history. However, Fletcher Building may well have ended up in a situation not entirely of its own making.
The new Unitary Plan is also relevant to the matter. The policy statement of the plan states: "Protect the historical, archaeological and cultural integrity of regionally significant volcanic features and their surrounds." The Wallace Block is adjacent to the Ōtuataua Stonefields which are a scheduled "outstanding natural feature".
A part of this feature is Pukeiti volcano whose lower slopes come down into the Wallace Block. Of course, its surrounds extend even further. While the extent of the surrounds has to be decided, that is exactly what should have been determined by a rigorous structure planning process.
Pukeiti is a small and lowish volcano. Paradoxically, for it to have visual integrity, which the policy statement also affirms, it needs bigger protected surrounds than one of the higher volcanoes.
Housing development near it could easily swamp its visual integrity and change it into more of a local playground than a regionally important volcano which defines Auckland. Pukeiti is also one of the two remaining volcanoes in South Auckland that has not been destroyed or largely destroyed by quarrying and development.
The South Auckland field is a long catalogue of volcanic destruction: Waitomokia, Maungataketake, Ōtuataua, Wiri Mountain, Ash Hill, McLaughlin's Mountain etc, etc. This catalogue alone makes Pukeiti's values greater because there is so little original volcanic landscape left.
At present, the issue of the Wallace Block seems to have reached an impasse. The protesters are still there and Fletcher Building still has development plans. However, there is a possible way forward. Fletcher Building has said publicly that it is willing to sell the land. It is now a question of a willing buyer.
In view of all the water now under the bridge, a further planning regimen like a structure plan process seems cumbersome. The protesters have said they are not wanting the land for themselves but would be happy for it to be added to the adjacent Ōtuataua Stonefields Reserve.
Auckland Council in light of its previous litigation has always wanted to protect this land. The adjacent land is of national importance, which its status as an "outstanding natural feature" implies. Therefore a joint acquisition between the council and the Crown should be the way forward and, if memory serves correctly, this is how the original Stonefields reserve was acquired.
• G L Smith is spokesperson for the Auckland Volcanic Cones Society Inc
