New compact housing for Leamington

A contentious infill housing development has been approved by Waipā District Council commissioners, after proving the development met a range of existing District Plan rules.

The consent was granted for a 10-unit compact housing development at 47 Coleridge Street, Cambridge, by accredited hearing commissioners, Councillors Claire St Pierre and Lou Brown, and commissioner Poto Davies.

The panel acknowledged the main concerns raised by those opposed to the development but granted the consent based on the information supplied by the Applicant, Zane Beckett of Meridian Asset Management.

Main concerns included the development being outside the compact housing overlay, higher density, residential character, traffic effects and infrastructure.

Council’s group manager district growth and regulatory Wayne Allan said the decision to grant consent reflected planning recommendations and the government’s stance to increasing housing density rather than taking up valuable productive land for new developments.

“This is the kind of development that Government has directed councils around the country to look closely at. It will represent a change for some, but we will need to see more well-designed small dwellings such as these to offer more housing choices for our growing population.”

“Compact housing is one way to use infrastructure more efficiently while keeping a lid on urban sprawl. Waipā holds 9 percent of the nation’s most productive high quality soils so we have a balancing act on providing more homes and maintaining surrounding amenity standards while protecting our fertile land for rural productive purposes.”

To allay submitters concerns about the appearance of the compact houses, ranging between 185m2 and 243m2 in section size, Allan said the urban design elements provided with the application showed a range of different housing structures. The development was also peer reviewed by the Council’s independent Urban Design expert Sam Foster and deemed appropriate for the residential area.

“The ten housing units will be incorporated into six buildings, a combination of duplex and stand-alone houses consisting of two or three bedrooms. With a variety of building sizes, shapes and materials, the Commissioners determined that the development will not detract from Cambridge’s character.”

As a signatory to the New Zealand Urban Design Protocol, Waipā District Council has also made a non-binding commitment to achieving good urban design outcomes.

As the decision has been released it is now within the appeal period.