Public submissions on three massive private plan changes which are expected to transform Drury over the next 30 years are now being accepted and will close on 22 October.
Photo: Supplied
Oyster Capital, Fulton Hogan and Kiwi Property are seeking to increase the amount of residential, commercial and retail development in the area.
Coupled with investment by the Auckland Council, the NZTA, Kiwirail, and the government, the small semi-rural town could be metamorphosed into part of a satellite city south of Auckland.
They are collectively planning to rezone approximately 330 hectares of land in the Drury East area from future urban to a mix of residential, business and open space zones.
Auckland Council Planning Committee voted on 2 July to accept the private plan change requests. They will now go out for public consultation before a series of hearings. But the changes will still need to be signed off by Auckland Council to be finally adopted.
A fourth smaller private plan change to rezone 33.7 hectares for mixed-use housing by Karaka and Drury Limited was added to the public notification by council officers.
Planning Committee chairman Chris Darby said the officers had delegated authority to include them. But he said the larger plan changes proposed by Oyster Capital, Fulton Hogan and Kiwi Property were brought before the committee last month due to their sheer scale.
Darby was keen to highlight the fact that they had not yet been adopted.
"Auckland Council is likely to make a submission on the Drury plan changes and that will come back to the Planning Committee to be signed off," he said.
"We have a very keen interest in these changes and understanding their implications."
According to council officers, despite billions being earmarked for the area, there is still just over $1 billion worth of infrastructure that will be needed that does not currently have funding.
That includes $600m for transport-related projects and a further $500m will be needed for stormwater, sewerage, parks and community facilities.
Darby was concerned about that.
"We have to look at how we are going to pay for the Auckland Council's share," he said. "We've only got so much money to go around at the moment and we're very stretched and so is the NZTA."
The redevelopment of Drury is part of a wider plan which will see the total population of Takanini, Drury, Opāheke, Paerata and Pukekohe areas grow to 120,000 over the next 30 years.
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