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by Alison Dixie
An important parcel of bush reserve forming part of Wellington city’s northern gateway is under threat from proposed housing development.

The block of land sits on the spur of the hill above the Ngauranga Gorge gateway to the city and is visible from points as far away as Petone and the eastern suburbs, as well as the harbour and the urban motorway into the city. The land is zoned Open Plan B in the Wellington City Council’s district plan, but is privately owned and the owner has applied to the council for a plan change to allow subdivision and the construction of residential housing.

Residents of Homebush Road in Khandallah whose homes border or overlook the reserve are alarmed that the proposal may be approved by council.

The area contains regenerating native bush, some of which has been planted and maintained by the owners of the bordering properties, and is a valuable habitat for many species of the city’s birds and insect life. It also forms an important landfall for birds flying from Matiu-Somes Island to the mainland.

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The residents say that re-zoning of the land will result in a loss of open space amenity for the city which can never be replaced.

The council has a district plan which allows for urban growth and development in specific areas and piecemeal changes to that plan which encroach onto the city’s green belt should not be permitted. They question how the council can protect other similarly held areas of reserve around the city if it allows the change of zone. “It may be just one small bite but a number of small bites of the pie still mean it’s all gone,” says a spokesman for the group, Nick Dixie.

The Homebush Road residents are urging the council to consider their responsibility to preserve the natural environment as part of the city’s heritage for future generations. Once it’s gone, it cannot be put back.

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The land in question is part of a much larger parcel stretching from the hill behind the Ngauranga Gorge along the hillsides bordering the Old Hutt Road towards Onslow Road. Much of the hill is covered at present by a pine plantation planted in the late 1970s.

The current owner of the land, Mr Eyal Aharoni of Prime Property Group, purchased it in 2006. He is in dispute with residents of Spenmoor Street in Newlands where a proposed subdivision of 40 homes has tripled in size to more than 120. The Homebush Road residents are concerned that a similar scenario may develop for this proposal.

A hearing to decide whether the district plan change should be allowed, is scheduled for April 2-3.

Alison Dixie is a resident of Homebush Road.

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