The proposal for a new apartment block in Mt Victoria, the first major housing development enabled by the new District Plan, demonstrates that the wealthy will be the only winners from changes that were supposed to bring about affordable housing.
A developer has submitted a resource consent application to the Wellington City Council for the ‘Mayfair’, a 32 unit, six-storey apartment block, in the heart of historic Mt Victoria, Wellington.
The development will be located on the site of the ‘Westbourne’, a large 19th century house visible from many parts of Mt Victoria due to its location on a knoll within a gully. The house will be demolished.
Neighbours are rightly anxious about the proposal, with concerns around increased traffic and loss of amenity. The building, with 29 carparks, will mean dozens of cars going up and down a narrow private road that is currently used by just a handful.
It will shade surrounding houses, remove backyard privacy for many, and will block views of the town belt. Although located outside a ‘character’ area, its height means it will loom over nearby heritage and character precincts.
“Proponents of the radical changes to the District Plan promised it would bring about affordable housing but here we see the reality: it’s about building expensive housing for rich people,” says Phil Kelliher of LIVE WELLington.
“The development, with its ‘high end’ apartments, is unashamedly aimed at wealthy buyers. It will feature an outdoor heated pool, as well as a sauna and gym.
“It will no doubt be a lovely apartment building for those who can afford to live there. But there is a significant impact on those who already live in the area – through shade, increased traffic, loss of privacy and impact on the suburb’s character. Basically, the amenity of existing owners is being stolen by this development.”
This area of Austin Street would have sat within a character area, if recommendations of the independent commissioners hearing the District Plan had been accepted.
That would have meant that a notified resource consent would be required to demolish a house older than 1930, and to build anything above medium density (3 storeys).
In this case, due to the intense interest from neighbours, the developer has taken the unusual step of saying he will allow the four neighbours who have a part ownership of the private road to be notified. The council is yet to make a decision on whether others will have a say.
“This is exactly what we feared and predicted would happen with the new District Plan in Wellington. A developer can come in and build a very tall building right in the middle of one-to-two story housing, impact the neighbourhood in all sorts of ways, and the residents can’t have a say as of right – they are reliant on the good grace of a developer,” Kelliher says.
“This is not the way to build a cohesive, liveable city. We should be engaging citizens on how we can equitably introduce density into areas that are traditionally low rise. The outcome of this situation will bring resentment and division in the community.”
LIVE WELLington is taking a judicial review on the decisions made by the Wellington City Council and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop regarding characters areas in the District Plan. The review will be heard in February.