Nine new Special Housing Areas (SHAs), with a potential yield of 1100 new homes in Auckland, were announced on Monday 23 November 2015 by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown.
“This newest tranche of Special Housing Areas will bring the total number of SHAs established in Auckland to 106, with a long-term capacity of more than 48,000 new homes," says Dr Smith.
“The government and the council are achieving real progress in working together to address Auckland’s housing issues, and the Special Housing Areas are making a big difference, not just in terms of the number of homes developers are building, but also the price ranges they are building for,” says Mr Brown.
New SHA locations
The nine new SHAs are a mixture of brownfield (an existing urban area) and greenfield (an area that may become urban in the future) sites, with two located in the city’s north, three in the south, and five within the Auckland isthmus area:
- Takanini Strategic SHA extension, Takanini: 19.6 hectares, 300 homes
- Hillary Crescent, Belmont: 9.6 hectares, 340 homes
- Karepiro Drive, Stanmore Bay: 14.8 hectares, 78 homes
- McAnnalley Street, Manurewa: 0.9 hectares, 92-111 homes
- Mill Road, Alfriston: 3.4 hectares, 29-54 homes
- Mountain Road, Epsom: 0.4 hectares, 60-80 homes
- St Georges Road, Avondale: 0.7 hectares, 30 homes
- Larch Street, Avondale: 0.5 hectares, 74 homes
- Wellington Street, Freemans Bay: 0.2 hectares, 51 homes
- Meadowbank Road, Meadowbank: 0.5 hectares, 31 homes
New house builds at a 10-year high
The Auckland Housing Accord, which was agreed in October 2013 by Dr Smith and Mr Brown, provides for the creation of SHAs by Auckland Council with the approval of the government. Qualifying developments in these areas can be streamlined and fast-tracked.
“There is still a power of work involved in converting Special Housing Areas into completed houses, but Aucklanders should be encouraged by the fact residential construction in the city is booming,” says Dr Smith.
“We are experiencing the longest and strongest sustained period of growth in Auckland’s history, with the rate of new house build at a 10-year high."
Find out more about Special Housing Areas.
