Strict protections should remain in West Auckland’s environmentally sensitive areas, says Waitākere Ranges Local Board in its response to the Government’s “Going for Housing Growth” consultation proposal.
In its formal submission, the board raises concerns about proposed changes to urban development rules—particularly the removal of a hard Rural Urban Boundary (RUB), which has long served as a safeguard for the ecologically fragile Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area.
“Sharing our feedback on the Going for Housing Growth consultation is important, as the plan could have a major impact on Te Wao Nui a Tiriwa / the Waitākere Ranges. We hope the Government will take our concerns on board, provide certainty for our communities and help protect our national taonga,” says Waitākere Ranges Local Board chair Greg Presland.
A changing policy landscape
In its feedback, the board points to a changing policy landscape as a key issue affecting both developers and communities.
Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan enabled considerable intensification of the urban area, and the effects have been clear in suburbs like Glen Eden. This area has seen significant construction of apartments and considerable additional homes on existing residential sites.
Since then various tweaks to rules relating to housing in the urban area have been made by the Council. The latest proposed National Policy Statement on Urban Development has upended previous work. The board believes this continuous change is not good for long-term decision making.
It supports Auckland Council’s broader goal of a compact urban form, focused on intensification near transport hubs—so long as it is done with quality urban design and long-term sustainability in mind.
Support for intensification, not sprawl
The submission highlights support for well-designed, quality intensification within existing urban areas but questions whether encouraging further urban sprawl is viable—either financially or environmentally.
It highlights the enormous infrastructure costs associated with sprawl and argues that recent flooding and slips demonstrate the consequences of building in the wrong places.
Concerns are also raised about the proposal to lower the threshold for considering adverse environmental effects, and reduce control over land use effects borne “solely” by the developer. The board argues such changes are hard to enforce and pose risks to the environment and communities.
Protecting the Waitākere Ranges
The board's biggest concern lies with the proposed removal of the hard Rural Urban Boundary, especially where it relates to the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area.
It stresses that the environment is fragile, with much of the land being prone to natural hazards, and that severe weather events in recent years caused extensive slips, some of which are still being repaired. The area has reached its maximum capacity of human activities.
The board believes that planning controls in the Waitākere Ranges are not barriers but essential protections. Auckland Council’s last monitoring report suggested that the Heritage Area Act is preventing poor quality urban sprawl into fragile areas.
It argues that the removal of the RUB would effectively undermine the purpose of the Heritage Area Act and expose the Ranges to gradual degradation, agreeing with previous assessments that weakening the RUB could result in a ‘death by a thousand cuts’—where small, incremental changes eventually erode the unique environmental and cultural values of the Ranges.
Call for certainty and environmental responsibility
The board calls for greater policy consistency, long-term vision, and strong environmental safeguards as Auckland grows, and urges central government to ensure future planning systems provide certainty for developers and communities alike—and that protections for the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area remain untouched.
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