In early 2023 communities across Mt Roskill and Wesley were impacted by flooding, with over 350 homes assessed for safety, and almost 100 homes that had safety access restrictions. There were also a number of Kāinga Ora homes affected by flooding, increasing the overall number of homes impacted in these communities.
The most affected neighbourhoods were around the Oakley Creek which runs through the War Memorial Park in Welsey, and under Dominion Road toward Mt Roskill Grammar.
Major flood resilience projects
Auckland Council currently has nine flood resilience projects, also known as blue-green networks, at various stages of planning and design.
The Te Auaunga/Oakley Creek (Mt Roskill) long-term flood mitigation project is currently unfunded but early design and modelling is underway. To keep up to date on progress and frequently asked questions, check out the latest update on the council’s website.
Ongoing stormwater work and preparedness
The council has increased stormwater maintenance and monitoring in the area, and is working with the community to help reduce dumping around streams and increase storm preparedness.
There is a lot of helpful information available via Auckland Council to help you reduce the flood risk at your home and keep your family prepared. An Emergency Readiness Plan has been confirmed for this area.
Community events and engagements
With community recovery planning and flood resilience projects in full swing, there are lots of events happening in our storm-impacted communities. For the latest events and engagement opportunities in your neighbourhood, visit our community events page.
Flood risk at homes
The council has been assessing homes affected in the 2023 storms that registered for a future risk category, offering buy-out or construction grant support depending on the risk.
Check out the latest categorisation numbers for Mt Roskill and surrounding suburbs at the bottom of this storm recovery update.
Removal of high-risk homes
Around 1200 homes across Auckland will be assessed as Category 3 (intolerable risk to life) and will be bought out by Auckland Council and removed.
Read more on the home removal programme.
For questions about maintenance/security of storm-affected homes check out the FAQs.
Future use of storm-affected land
A policy has been developed that will guide how we assess the potential for each property we have bought out, so that safety, future resilience and value for Aucklanders are top of mind.
To find out more about the storm-affected land policy or make a suggestion about a vacant property visit ourauckland.nz/futureuse.
Wesley and Roskill Recovery Leadership Rōpū (group)
Looking forward: Community recovery planning
Local recovery planning is about supporting communities to work together to identify their own recovery needs and make plans to actively address these needs at the street, neighbourhood or community level. At its simplest, it’s about bringing communities together to think about what still needs to happen in their area to feel recovered and then identifying actions they can take themselves to make this happen.
To ensure the community can shape recovery plans, a Wesley and Mt Roskill Leadership Rōpū (group) was formed with the support of the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Office. The group is made up of locals from different walks of life including ethnic and religious communities, homeowners, private renters and Kainga Ora tenants.
The Wesley and Roskill Community Led Recovery Action Plan will address both immediate needs and focus on what these neighbourhoods need to thrive and feel genuinely recovered.
If you’d like to participate in shaping the plan, find out about events or have your say, email Heather at thecommunitycollectivenz@gmail.com.
Development in flood risk areas
There are clear rules under the Auckland Unitary Plan requiring anyone building in a risk hazard area to prove that the risks will be avoided or managed well enough not to impact people or property – including neighbouring properties. In response to the floods in 2023, Auckland Council has been advocating to the Government for the power to be able to strengthen these rules even further. We want to allow more housing choice - but in the right places.
We are pleased that the Minister Responsible for the Resource Management Act recently announced support for policy changes at the national level that give us the ability to go ahead and start this work. The council can now look at planning changes that will improve the resilience of homes to flooding and other natural hazards over time. This could mean restricting building in high-risk hazard areas or in some places strengthening the standards that must be met by developers and others when applying to build in these areas.
Work on the proposed changes has begun and public notification is expected later this year.
Wellbeing support
Check out the available wellbeing resources on OurAuckland.
