It has been a particularly notable week at TEL, with the firm appearing in the media and obtaining approval for two significant urban developments.
Media coverage
On Tuesday 28 March, TEL Director Andrew Braggins was interviewed by NewsHub on Mayor Wayne Brown’s announcement of a “Big Auckland Fix Up”. In his press release on Monday 27 March, Mayor Brown identified ‘several simple fixes’ to reduce flooding risk in Tamaki Makaurau. These included:
- Clear streams and open drain channels on public and private land.
- Lower non-arterial roads over constricted drains and waterways.
- Build and improve turn-offs to utilise public stormwater storage in public parks and other areas.
- ‘Daylight’ streams in places where they are enclosed in pipes or narrow paths to create floodplains and reduce flooding of residential areas.
In his interview with NewsHub (and associated print article), Andrew commented on these proposals, noting in particular that “Where stream blockages were an issue, you’re looking at the landowner, well, who is that landowner? A lot of the time it’s actually Auckland Council that’s the landowner because it’s the streams running through public reserves, so it’s the council that needs to look at itself.” You can find the full video above.
Approvals obtained for two significant urban developments
TEL have had two major developments approved this week.
On Monday 27 March, we were notified of the decision to approve Plan Change 76, which live zones 30 hectares of land in eastern Pukekohe for urban development.
Then on Wednesday 29 March, we received the decision granting consent for the construction of a six to eight storey apartment building on Mokoia Road, Birkenhead. A great addition to the locality, the Chelsea Rise Development will provide 77 residential apartments, whilst also being conveniently located next to the Birkenhead Town Centre and within a 15 minute bus trip to the CBD.
Intensification in locations which are well-served by public transport should help to ease congestion, whilst also providing much needed housing close to amenities. We are excited to see these two developments get the green light, after all the work that has gone into them!