The Middle Rd land in Havelock North and (inset) the potential layout for a future subdivision. Photo / NZME
Plans for hundreds of future homes in a large subdivision on the edge of Havelock North have received a major setback.
On Tuesday, following much debate, Hastings District Council voted (eight votes to five) to exclude a 53ha site on Middle Rd from a key planning document for future housing.
That decision effectively means the council does not support the land being earmarked for future housing on a large scale.
The Hastings-Napier Future Development Strategy (FDS) has been years in the making and is in the process of being finalised.
Simply put, that planning document identifies large sites for housing and industrial growth around Napier, Hastings and Havelock North that can be developed over the next 30 years.
An independent panel recommended the Middle Rd site be included in the FDS to meet housing growth, with capacity for over 600 new homes.
Developer CDL Land owns a large portion of that land and has been eyeing a future subdivision on the site. Other landowners also own land on that site.
The land, some of which is currently used for grazing sheep, is sandwiched between CDL’s existing Iona subdivision project (for over 300 residential lots) and the new James Wattie Retirement Village.
However, on Tuesday, councillors opted to exclude the site and a smaller site on Wall Rd in Hastings (of 11ha) from the FDS, to protect fertile soils.
Councillor Kevin Watkins said Hawke’s Bay was famous for being “the fruit bowl of New Zealand”.
“The production of fruit and horticulture is the backbone of our economy,” Watkins said, of protecting fertile soils.
“Once the land is lost, there is no opportunity to get it back.”
The Middle Rd site is Land Use Capability 2, which is considered good land for growing.
Councillor Wendy Schollum wanted the Middle Rd and Wall Rd sites to be included in the FDS, highlighting that it was supported by the independent panel of experts.
“As a council, we have seen what happens when we don’t plan for enough housing.
“Children growing up in motels, families in limbo – I will not vote to take us back there.”
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council last month also opposed the Middle Rd site’s inclusion in the FDS.
CDL Land has been contacted about the latest decision.
The FDS will be updated every three years – meaning sites can be reviewed again in future.
The Middle Rd land is currently zoned Plains Production, which protects fertile soils from being developed.
The final FDS document must be agreed to by all three participating councils – Hastings, Napier and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council – before it can be adopted.
That is proving to be a problem.
Last month, Napier City Council approved a final FDS document with the inclusion of all 15 proposed future housing sites across the region (with capacity for over 5000 new homes).
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council approved a final FDS document with two sites removed – the Riverbend Rd site in Napier because of flood concerns, and the Middle Rd site to protect fertile soils.
Hastings has now approved a final FDS document with the removal of two sites, Middle Rd and Wall Rd.
As there is no unanimous agreement, more work will need to be done.
That will include a technical working group pulling together a final proposed FDS document, taking on board the concerns of each council.
That technical working group will include staff from all three councils and consultants.
A revised FDS document will then go back to each council to be considered for adoption.
“The options range from preparing an FDS that all parties agree on, to potentially having one FDS with notations reflecting the three councils’ requests,” Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst previously said of that process.
In other words, some sites could be included with an asterix next to them in the FDS, and notations or footnotes setting out specific concerns.
Hazlehurst said if agreement could not be reached at that point, “further discussions” would be required between the councils.
Long-standing regional councillor Neil Kirton said earlier this month that he had concerns about the process going forward, given the differing stances.
He said, in his view, a footnote raising certain concerns was simply akin to “weasel words” to have a site included in the FDS, when the better path was to simply include or exclude a site.
He said if it ended with a 2-1 vote in terms of the final shape of the FDS being adopted, he could see that ending up in court through a judicial review.
The three partner councils must all adopt one FDS to meet the requirements of the National Policy Statement for Urban Development.
Developers can apply for resource consents or private plan changes for housing developments in future, even if they are not included in the FDS. However, being listed in the FDS is a major advantage.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.