Robyn Newman-Hall, front centre, and other residents at Whitford Manor Estate have been waiting four years for a fully-functioning wastewater system. Photo / Michael Craig
Across Auckland, sewage is being trucked away from several new housing developments because wastewater infrastructure is not in place. In one gated community at Whitford, angry residents are taking matters into their own hands. Bernard Orsman investigates.
On a still day when you go for an afternoon walk at Whitford Manor Estate past the sewage plant you want to gag, claims resident Robyn Newman-Hall.
“It’s revolting,” she said.
Newman-Hall and her partner Jim Brown are members of a vocal group of residents frustrated and angry at what they believe is a lack of progress towards a new wastewater treatment plant.
The developer Kevin Murphy cites several reasons for the delay, saying there’s a contractual dispute with some residents.
He said they were out to discredit him and were making it difficult for him to sell the sections that would bring in revenue to complete the development.
Trucking away sewage is happening at several new housing subdivisions in Auckland, leading Auckland councillor Ken Turner to compare the practice to the old-fashioned night cart going door-to-door.
Last month, the Herald revealed sewage from 300 new homes at Red Hills in West Auckland is going into holding tanks and being trucked to a wastewater pump station because there is no permanent wastewater infrastructure.
Watercare said over the next few years, sewage would also be trucked away from a housing development at Warkworth and two beach settlements on the Manukau Harbour.
Newman-Hall and Brown fell for the charms of Whitford Manor Estate in rural east Auckland, which is marketed as an exclusive subdivision that marries high-end country estate homes with a setting reminiscent of an English village on a gently undulating site with walkways, bridges, and bush.
They purchased a section, built a home for their retirement, and were among the first residents to move into the exclusive gated community.
Newman-Hall said it’s been seven years since they paid their deposit on the land in 2017 and that should be long enough to wait for the facilities advertised: a private wastewater plant that produces potable water, a bore to give households a freshwater top-up, a gym, swimming pool, a tennis court, and other amenities.
Brown said moving into the house was initially wonderful but then claimed “slowly but surely our dream started to be shattered. More and more houses were being built but none of the infrastructure that was promised”.
After a four-year wait for a fully-functioning wastewater system, residents protested on the roadside outside Whitford Manor Estate with placards in June this year to pressure Auckland Council to act. This was followed by residents placing signs in their windows.
Whitford Manor Estate has a convoluted history going back to 2015. Early titles were issued in 2019 and residents began moving into their new houses in the spring of 2020.
Being a rural development, a private wastewater treatment plant was required, and planned to be built on the neighbouring Whitford Park Golf Course - but ran into problems and was instead built on the estate.
It has taken several years for Murphy to reapply for a variation to the discharge consent, which involved an out-of-court settlement with the Whitford Estuary Conservation Society and local iwi Ngai Tai. The consent was finally lodged last month, which seeks to discharge treated wastewater through two wetlands and the private stormwater network to Turanga Creek.
Newman-Hall said she felt that Murphy has let everyone down. In her view the existing wastewater treatment plant is no more than a cesspit, claiming there were several reported overflows this year.
Council acting compliance manager David Pawson said there had been several complaints from residents about sewage overflows, three were verified, and enforcement action was taken.
Two infringement notices and an abatement notice were issued for discharges earlier this year - one later cancelled in good faith to allow the developer to focus on lodging a consent for a permanent wastewater solution.
A third verified discharge to the environment occurred on August 28, and the council is finalising enforcement action over this breach, said Pawson.
Burzin Bhadha, whose family home is about 40 metres away from the treatment plant, said you cannot sit outside on the deck in a southerly wind because of the stench.
“It’s been like this for almost three years since I shifted here in 2021,” he said.
Residents are also in conflict with Murphy over levies, a connection fee to the treatment plant for the 31 houses already built, and who should pay to truck the sewage away.
Resident Steve Farmer said he bought into the estate on the understanding levies would be about $2500 to $3500 for wastewater and amenity costs.
Now there’s talk of levies rising to $7000 or more, and Murphy requesting a fee of $15,000 plus GST to connect to the wastewater treatment plant. Murphy told the Herald a connection fee was stated in sales and purchase agreements, and set at $15,000 plus GST.
Farmer said he built a “forever dream home” for his family but the dream has turned into a nightmare.
“We can’t get out because we can’t sell. You’ve just got to fight the battle and try and do the best you can.
“All I want is what was promised to us in our contract and verbally with the developer. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Said Newman-Hall: “I’m a retired teacher and Jim is a retired panelbeater. We are not rich people. We had a dream of living in a nice community. Unfortunately, it’s turned into an expensive nightmare.”
Matters between Murphy and the Whitford Manor Estate Residents Society (WMERS) have led to legal action between the parties, with the society saying it has run up a bill of $300,000 so far.
Murphy said original purchasers were advised the estimated annual levies would be about $3000 a year and reviewed each year.
He said the facilities would be built when money for building them was not being used for legal costs, and overdue invoices were paid by the society.
“There have been a challenging set of circumstances which have led us to the point where we sit today. Despite the obstacles faced over this time, we have every intention of completing the development,” he said.
Murphy said his development company, Le Coz, has also faced issues with the council’s stormwater division over water and wastewater solutions for the wider Whitford area, including plans to use land at the estate for wetlands without consulting Le Coz.
In a statement, the society said it recognised the toll the situation is taking on members but did not want to comment given the legal action.
Residents have also raised issues over the wastewater treatment plant with Auckland Council, including what they claim is the council’s failings to protect residents and the environment.
The council’s head of licensing and regulatory compliance, James Hassall, told residents in June that staff empathise with the position they find themselves in, but the council’s ability to intervene in the private wastewater matter is limited.
“We encourage the society to continue to put pressure on the developer and to take matters into its own hands as owner of the land,” said Hassall.
In an email to Mayor Wayne Brown and several councillors, resident Vernon Herbert said people felt unhappy with Hassall’s response and let down by the council.
“I would hate for more unsuspecting innocent people to end up in the same position as all of us in Whitford Manor Estate. I find the situation that council have allowed this to happen is absolutely disgusting and this should never have been allowed to happen in the first place and it should not be allowed to happen in the future.”
Bernard Orsman is an award-winning reporter who has been covering Auckland’s local politics and transport since 1998. Before that, he worked in the parliamentary Press Gallery for six years.
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