Learning to live with 'cluster' housing

By KEVIN TAYLOR

Battles are being fought all over Auckland between residents, councils and developers over cluster housing developments.

Locals horrified at the thought of Coronation St-style homes creating slums on their doorsteps are fighting councils with every means possible.

So ingrained are attitudes against terrace or cluster housing - in planning-speak, medium-density housing - that it may take a generation to change them, says an Auckland Regional Council-commissioned study.

The study shows that cluster housing is not creating the hovels some people fear.

But the driving force of population growth means Aucklanders will have to accept that there are no other options, planners say.

The study, presented to an Auckland City Council committee yesterday, includes a survey of residents and neighbours of cluster housing developments in five areas.

The oldest project, 57-unit Aintree Place in Epsom, was built between 1994 and 1997. The other developments are at Botany Downs, Ranui, Oteha Valley and Birkenhead.

The study's main findings are just what planners and local body politicians hope will start breaking down the prejudices against such housing projects. The findings include:

Residents of cluster housing have similar socio-economic and ethnic makeups to their neighbours.

Neighbours' objections are often based on incorrect assumptions, such as the belief that such housing leads to overcrowding.

Residents in the developments are more likely to be satisfied with their homes than neighbours are with theirs.

There is a sustainable demand for higher-density housing.

The Auckland City Council environmental planning manager, Penny Pirrit, said some people thought councils should regulate against such housing, but that was not an option.

It is estimated that Auckland gains one resident every 29 minutes - creating the equivalent of a city the size of Dunedin every five to six years.

The Regional Growth Strategy, adopted last year, calls for high-density living along main transport routes and around town centres to cope with a doubling of Auckland's population within 50 years.

Penny Pirrit said one of the study's main findings was that residents of cluster housing projects were there by choice.

She said the study would help to put facts before the public.

"People want to live in these things, so it's not a matter of hoping it will go away," Penny Pirrit said.

The manager of the regional council's social and economic group, Lesley Baddon, said the smaller households that made up such developments put less demand on the region's infrastructure than lower-density households.

The study would help councils to plan for medium-density housing, and make sure it was done correctly to avoid big mistakes.

"You can't just do it anywhere. You have to do it in the right location, and the right way," said Ms Baddon.

Despite the controversy over the projects, the study notes that public attitudes are already changing.

It says neighbours of developments often react emotionally, raising concerns about slums and ghettos. However, perceptions start to change once the developments are built.

The study makes a series of recommendations, one of which is that the regional council continue to encourage intensified development in the transport corridors and around town centres.

An action plan is also suggested to identify how the strategy's growth and housing targets can be achieved.

Ms Baddon said that five or six years ago, such housing design was hardly an issue. "Now, people realise it's here to stay. It will be a lot easier to get used to if it is done properly."