Tank Farm needs special leadership

Plans for the largest waterfront development in Auckland's history are likely to fail unless a special-purpose body takes charge of the project, says one of the country's leading engineers.

Sir Ron Carter, chairman of the Committee for Auckland - a non-political charitable trust formed three years ago to promote and develop the region - expressed strong reservations to Auckland City councillors yesterday about the governance of the Tank Farm project and the lack of time for public input.

Sir Ron said no other city in the world had approached a waterfront project of this type without setting up a special-purpose body to deliver the vision.

The present debate was about the allocation of space on the 35ha Tank Farm but he questioned the ability of the main players to deliver the vision on a hugely important piece of land the size of the central business district.

"If we rely solely on planning processes to deliver [the Tank Farm] the risk of failure is huge," he said.

Another Committee for Auckland member, Nick Main, said: "Around Auckland we see examples where the guidelines are good but the outcomes are terrible."

The Auckland City Council, Auckland Regional Council and Ports of Auckland, which owns much of the land, have different ideas and agendas for the land but no coherent plan at this stage.

Committee for Auckland executive director Kaaren Goodall warned that if the debate was not handled property, politicians risked a repeat of the public revolt over the early Britomart plans.

It might be too late. The Herald understands a powerful and well-funded organisation will be launched next month to lobby for the publicly owned headland jutting into the Waitemata to become one big park with an iconic building.

One of its goals will be to stop apartments on the headland.

The group will be based along the lines of Waterfront Watch, which has stymied residential and commercial development on the Wellington waterfront.

A third Committee for Auckland member, developer Richard Didsbury, said there was plenty to get on with at the Tank Farm this year, with a linking bridge from the Viaduct Harbour and an entertainment hub along Jellicoe Wharf. There was no urgency to deal with the headland in the next five years and he suggested it be put aside to a later date when it could be dealt with in conjunction with Queens Wharf.

City council chief executive David Rankin said putting the headland aside warranted exploration but the project involved trade-offs - a reference to a desire by the ARC, which owns Ports of Auckland, to make money from the development to fund public transport and stormwater.

Sir Ron said he understood the financial pressures on the ARC but questioned whether the project was about the future of Auckland and a major catalyst for economic and social development or yielding the best cashflow to respond to public demands for public transport and stormwater.

The council's urban strategy and governance committee, which heard yesterday from the Committee for Auckland, will hold a public meeting at the end of the month to consider the results of nearly 1500 submissions on the Tank Farm.