An artist's impression of the Housing New Zealand development at Martin Ave in Mt Albert. Source / Auckland Council
An artist's impression of the Housing New Zealand development at Martin Ave in Mt Albert. Source / Auckland Council
Residents of Mt Albert are fighting plans for a high-density development on their doorstep.
Housing New Zealand plans to redevelop seven properties into a multi-apartment block with 50 homes close to the Baldwin Ave train station.
"It's a big monolith," said local resident Teresa Weatherall, who was shocked to learnabout the scale of the development two weeks ago.
She said neighbours are not opposed to social housing, but believe the mostly three-storey apartment block will have a significant impact on the community. A two-storey development of townhouses would have been okay, she said.
"It just feels weird to have this dropped in the middle of our community," said Weatherall, saying this and other Housing New Zealand developments in the area are placing extra pressure on Mt Albert Grammar and other schools already at capacity.
At this point, the council has told residents there is no evidence to suggest the project will have anything less than minor impacts and there are no plans to give the public a say.
Concerned residents disagree and have sent the council a list of reasons for the project to be publicly notified.
They said there are no three-storey buildings in the area and the Mt Albert shops are two-storey at the most. The height limit for the area is 11m under the Unitary Plan, but HNZ is seeking to build up to 12.7m.
An aerial view of the block of houses Housing New Zealand wants to clear for 50 apartments. Source / Auckland Council
The building is close to the footpath, does not comply with rules for front yards, "making it a very intimidating building from the street", residents said.
They are also concerned about plans for 135 residents and just 42 car parks, saying this will lead to more on-street parking and traffic volumes on a busy route for children walking to Gladstone primary school.
A Housing New Zealand spokesman said it was difficult to respond fully at the weekend to the Mt Albert issue.
"Housing New Zealand has many building projects in preliminary stages or in planning or in construction across the country. We always aim to keep people regularly up to date with our plans and we do so at the appropriate time."
A report done by Forme Planning for Housing New Zealand said the 4239sq m site will have a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom two-storey terraces for HNZ tenants.
Limiting the height to three storeys will allow the design and appearance of the buildings to integrate with the character and scale of the neighbourhood, and the architecture will contribute to the attractiveness and safety of the streetscape, the report said.
The residents are holding a community meeting at Rossgrove Chapel in Mt Albert on Thursday at 7.30pm.
In 2015, Mt Albert residents opposed plans by Housing New Zealand to redevelop a 34-unit lot at Asquith Ave near Mt Albert Grammar School.
