Traffic fears spark legal bid on revised Soho Square proposals

Ponsonby's $250 million hole. Photo / Steven McNicholl

New traffic concerns have been prompted by a revised development scheme for a 1.3ha hole in the ground in Ponsonby into which investors have sunk nearly $94 million.

These have led to a submission to the Environment Court by Auckland City Council lawyers that it should consider whether it has jurisdiction to rule on the revised proposal for the troubled Soho Square site without referring it back to the council for another round of public submissions.

The council's transport division estimates that a revised mix of uses proposed for the site behind Ponsonby Rd, including a large increase in retail space, would mean almost five times more traffic on local roads at noon on Saturdays than an earlier plan.

Its estimate - which is for Ponsonby's peak weekend traffic period - has been relayed by the council lawyers to the court as it prepares to hear an appeal against the rejection of the earlier scheme by independent council-appointed planning commissioners.

They have told the court in a memo that the council is particularly concerned about whether the revised scheme by Ponsonby Mall Trust, which is in receivership, would allow "some form of large format retail or supermarket".

The developers dug about 176,000cu m from the site under an existing land use consent from the council before hitting financial difficulties for what was billed as a $250 million project. It left a massive flooded hole in the ground as an eyesore and potential health hazard for one of Auckland's most affluent suburbs.

The hole was to make room for a five-level underground parking building of 1250 vehicle spaces, and was almost twice the amount excavated for the $160 million New Lynn rail trench.

There is also council approval to build up to 32,386sq m of floor space for shops, offices, apartments, cafes, restaurants and cinemas to a maximum height of 15m.

But the planning commissioners in 2008 rejected a proposal to add about 15,000sq m of floor space and an extra 16.7m of height to the development, largely because of concerns about shading for neighbouring properties in Crummer Rd and Maidstone St.

In their latest proposal developers have reduced their application for extra floor space to about 12,000sq m and offered to cut back the faces of buildings overlooking Crummer Rd.

But they want to increase retail floor space from 499sq m to 6549sq m and build 64 instead of 52 apartments, while reducing office allocations.

The council lawyers have said in their submission that although the application for overall floor space has been reduced slightly, "the significant increase in the retail space will increase the intensity of the activity due to the increased level of traffic it will generate".

Other parties to the appeal, including the City Fringe community group and ASB Community Trust, have until the middle of next month to file evidence with the Environmental Court and the developers have until October 1 to forward any rebuttal evidence.

Receiver Tim Downes, appointed by the Fortress investment group of the United States to dispose of the site, would not comment yesterday on the proposed changes to the scheme.

He was confident a deal to sell the site would be closed within three or four weeks and dismissed the Herald's questions about the planning appeal as "all irrelevant".

Real estate agent Bruce Whillans, who is acting for the receivers, said earlier that a conditional agreement to sell the site had been terminated because of "strong interest from two other parties".

He said supermarket companies, a healthcare provider and two retirement village operators had shown interest in the site, and "the developers looking at buying it are looking at being the catalyst to bring the various units together".

Auckland City Council member Graeme Easte, one of about 800 submitters who opposed the earlier scheme in 2008 and who is a party to the appeal, said he believed the case should be publicly notified again because of the changes.

"Although this may delay things by a few months, I think it's important we get a good development there, not just any development for the sake of filling the hole."