Land development set to take off at Manakau and Waikawa Beach in 2019

Veronica from Manakau

Horowhenua District Council's land and property development plans for Manakau and Waikawa Beach will proceed now a decision has been made about the new route of the Otaki to North Levin expressway.

Council's Horowhenua Growth Strategy 2040 states,” With improvements being made to the expressway that connects Horowhenua to Wellington it is anticipated that growth for our District will be largely focused around Levin and in the southern part of the District.

"While growth will be spread across the settlements in the southern part of the District, Waikawa Beach will be significant as...the southernmost coastal settlement" and "Manakau as the southernmost settlement in the District,” but the strategy acknowledges there is community opposition to land development at Manakau and Waikawa Beach.

Although the Growth Strategy was adopted by Council in November 2018 it is still not available to the public on the Plans and Strategies section of the Council website. A Council representative said, "This will be updated in the New Year." As of today it is still not available. Instead the public have to search for the 21 November 2018 council meeting for a copy.

The growth strategy also identifies three other large areas on the western side of Manakau for land and property development including a large development north of an existing housing settlement and two large areas south of Manakau.

Council's growth strategy states land north-west of the existing residential settlement would be, "rezoned first" because, "This is the largest growth area, and therefore, it would be capable of meeting much of the projected growth for the Greenbelt Residential Zone in Manakau. This land also adjoins an existing residentially zoned area as well as the Manakau Domain."

The three remaining areas in Manakau proposed for land development, "have been identified as additional options for growth. These will not be proposed to be rezoned by Council in the immediate future but one or more of these options may be considered for rezoning in the future if required."

Council's group manager of strategy & development David McCorkingdale said, "If development went forward in an area there would be a plan change, after which some cost or rates impact may occur should a property be rezoned."

In the Horowhenua Growth Strategy's predecessor, The Horowhenua Development Plan 2008, Council prepared a five page profile on Manakau that failed to mention or include any reference to Maori or the long standing whakapapa and land interests local Maori have at Manakau and Waikawa Beach.

There is one reference to Maori in the Growth Strategy stating, “there is no coverage of archaeological sites (Māori and European) identified by the District Plan.”

Horowhenua-Growth-Strategy-version-for-adoption-November-2018.pdf Download View