October 25, 2017
Surplus Ihumatao land could go to iwi
Fletcher Building is considering gifting up to a quarter of its land at Ihumatao to iwi as a reserve in perpetuity.
The company fielded questions at its annual meeting in Auckland yesterday about its plan to build 480 homes on land next to the Otuataua Stonefields near Auckland International Airport.
A United Nations committee has criticised the consultation over the zoning of the land as a special housing area.
Fletcher Building’s chief executive for residential and land development, Steve Evans, says it’s up to the government to respond to the committee, not the company.
The company has identified a buffer area adjacent to the stonefields covering about 25 percent of the site, which could be gifted to Auckland Council, the Tupuna Maunga Authority, the local marae committee or some other suitable body which can take responsibility for its maintenance.
"Where it sits adjacent there are some obvious opportunities in terms of what sis below the surface – some lava caves that we’ve identified that say we shouldn’t be building on anything with historical significance. We have also looked at other options in terms of what the configuration is on adjacent land and that is the right separation that is provided in terms of our overall master plan," Mr Evans says.
He says the Save Our Unique Landsape group occupying the land is trespassing and the company will deal with them once all the consents are in place.
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