Hearing Topic: 058 Public Open Space. Primary Evidence: from Andrea Broughton

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Denis George
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1 Submitter: Andrea & Alex Broughton Submission Number: Hearing Topic: 058 Public Open Space Primary Evidence: from Andrea Broughton Date: 10 June Introduction My name is Andrea Broughton and I present this evidence on behalf of my husband and myself in respect of our submission on Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation Zone applying to the St Heliers Bay Reserve / Vellenoweth Green. 2. Submission The specific provisions of the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (PAUP), our submission concerns is the Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation Zone, development controls relating to the maximum building height on the southern part of the Vellenoweth Green. The matter we are concerned about is the proposed maximum building height of 15 meters. The specific site our submission relates to is the land situated on the north side of Goldie Street, St Heliers, being the southern part of Vellenoweth Green, occupied by the St Heliers Tennis Club, the St Heliers Bowling Club and the St Heliers Croquet Club. We consider that the maximum building height needs to be the same as that specified for the rest of the Vellenoweth Green. A 15 meter high building or recreational structure would result in a significant loss of sunlight, day light, views and have a significant adverse effect on the visual amenity of the adjacent residential area. 3. Background My husband and I are long- term residents of St Heliers having lived in the area for over 26 years. My family also live in St. Heliers, and own property adjacent to Vellenoweth Green. In addition I hold the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Town Planning from the University of Auckland and have previously worked in District, Coastal and Regional Planning for a period of 17 years. 4. Description of Vellenoweth Green: Vellenoweth Green is a recreation reserve located in the suburb of St Heliers adjacent to the St Heliers Beach (refer Attachment 1). It is a rectangular shape reserve approximately hectares in area. It is comprised of flat land and is boarded by Tamaki Drive, Goldie Street and The Parade. The adjoining area is residential with the St Heliers Village being located further to the east. Vellenoweth Green has 2 parts; the northern part is grassed open space with a few trees around the periphery.

2 This comprises approximately 2/3 of the reserve being an area of hectares (refer attachment 2). The southern part of Vellenoweth Green is occupied by the St Heliers Tennis Club, the Bowling club and the Croquet Club and caretaker cottage. This comprises approximately 1/3 of the Reserve being an area of hectares. The Vellenoweth Green along with the St Heliers Village forms the centre of the residential suburb of St Heliers. It is an integral part of the heart and identity of the suburb. It is well known as the venue for Auckland sporting and community events, such as the finishing area for the Round the Bays run and Weet- bix Kids Triathlon. It also provides recreation facilities for the local community, both the open grassed area on its northern side and the local recreational clubs on the southern side. The St Heliers Tennis & Bowling Clubs have existed on this site since 1913 and the Croquet Club since Five building exist on the site today 3 of which are 2 storied and 2 are single storied and are of modest scale. In addition the Tennis Club has 7 courts, the Bowling Club has 2 bowling greens and petanque area and the Croquet Club has a croquet lawn (refer Attachment 3) 5. Operative City of Auckland District Plan Isthmus Section. The City of Auckland District Plan Isthmus Section is the operative planning document for the Vellenoweth Green. Under this document the Green is zoned Open Space Activity Zone 2 for the northern part and open Space Activity 3 for the southern part where the clubs are located. The Open Space Activity Zone 2 has a maximum height of 8 meters and Open Space Activity Zone 3 a maximum height of 10 meters. 6. Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan The Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan zones the Vellenoweth Green as a combination of Public Open Space: Informal Recreation for the northern part of the reserve, and Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation for the southern part of the reserve (refer Attachment 1). The Public Open Space: Informal Recreation Zone has a maximum height of 8 meters. The Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation Zone has a maximum height of 15 meters. 7. Reserve Act 1977 The Vellenoweth Green is also subject to a reserve management plan under the Reserves Act This document is titled St Heliers Bay Reserve / Vellenoweth Green Management Plan November This management plan is a legally binding document under the Reserves Act. It also reflects and provides for the provisions of the Auckland City Council (St. Heliers Bay Reserve) Act The particular section of this Act that gives this direction is Section 6 (1) (f). The Management Plan states it is desirable that there is consistency between it and the District Plan (or in this case the PAUP).

3 8. The Auckland City Council (St Heliers Bay Reserve) Act 1995 The St Heliers Bay Reserve / Vellenoweth Green is the subject of its own Act of Parliament which was enacted by Parliament on the 25 th of July This is known as the Auckland City Council (St Heliers Bay Reserve) Act (Refer attachment 4) The Vellenoweth Green has a long history of disputes, having been the subject of court action between land owners and the New Zealand and River Plate Land Mortgage Company in the late 1800 s / early 1900 s. This resulted in a Memorandum of Agreement dated 23 September 1904, between the various parties. Those Parties were the land owners, the New Zealand and River Plate Land Mortgage Company and the inhabitants of the West Tamaki Road District. This Memorandum provides for the Reserve to be held and used as recreational grounds and further defines the purpose, nature and use of Vellenoweth Green. This memorandum is incorporated in part into St Heliers Bay Reserve Act The Memorandum of Agreement continues to apply today. It is my understanding that in the early 1990 s a group of St Heliers residents known as the Friends of Vellenoweth Green, became aware of issues around the legal status of the Green as reserve. As a result of their actions and with the assistance of Hon. Clem Simich, then the local Member of Parliament for Tamaki, the St Heliers Reserve Act was enacted. This legislation vested the Vellenoweth Green as reserve within the meaning of the Reserves Act 1977 and validated the occupancy of the southern part of the reserve by the specific sporting clubs. These being the St Heliers Tennis Club, the Bowling Club and Croquet Club. It also regulated the ability of the clubs to intensify their use of Vellenoweth Green. In particular the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act specifies the following - i. that each Club continued to occupy only that land area which it currently enjoys (as defined on SO Reference Section 6 (a)). ii. that if at anytime any leases granted are forfeited, surrendered or otherwise terminated, the land currently occupied by the club will be returned to public open space in the character of the existing Green. iii. that the Council shall not consent to any proposal by any of the clubs for any change, alteration or expansion in the use by the clubs of the areas occupied by them which would result in a material increase in the intensity or scale of that use or a change to its character or not be ancillary to the activities of the club. iv. that no other leases to any of the Clubs or to any other person shall be granted

4 9. Planning Matters The Auckland Council Planner s statement of evidence makes the following comments - a) The Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan s (PAUP) committed building heights are based on those contained in the legacy district plans, but with a greater differentiation between Public Open Space: Conservation and Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation Zones. This is to achieve the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan s public open space objectives and policies of low scale single story buildings in the Public Open Space: Conservation Zone and higher buildings meeting the functional requirements of particular sports in the Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation zone. For example sports such as, badminton, diving (associated with a swimming pool), and indoor rock climbing typically require higher buildings and / or structures. As stated above the Operative City of Auckland District Plan Isthmus Section zones the southern part of Vellenoweth Green Open Space Activities Zone 3, with a maximum building height of 10 meters. There is a significant difference between 10 meter and the 15 meter maximum building height now proposed in the PAUP Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation Zone. Council s planner states this is to provide for sports that have a need for higher buildings or structures. None of these sports are undertaken on the southern part of Vellenoweth Green and cannot be as their use and scale of facilities are not provided for in the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act b) The planners evidence also states; The 8 meter height limit for Public Open Space: Informal Recreation Zone enables 2 storey buildings which better enables the achievement of that zones objectives and policies particularly in respect of retaining the open and spacious character and function of the public open space. I consider it is of relevance that other local tennis clubs and bowling clubs in the area are zoned Public Open Space: Informal Recreation, for example the Kohimarama Tennis and Bowling Clubs. Not only are the uses similar to those on the southern part of Vellenoweth Green, but the moderate scale of the building and structures are the same. In addition the northern 2/3 s of Vellenoweth Green is also zoned Public Open Space: Informal Recreation. This zoning would be a better fit with the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act 1995 and the Reserve Management Plan for Vellenoweth Green prepared under the Reserves Act c) The Planner s evidence also discusses the matter of public open spaces with unique characteristics and the ability to prepare a precinct plan for such areas. It goes further to state that Vellenoweth Green does not have unique characteristics that would warrant the preparation of a precinct plan or park specific controls.

5 This assessment make no reference to the long history of Vellenoweth Green, and the effort of many individuals to retain the Green as recreation reserve, preserving and maintaining its use for specific recreation purposes. As stated previously this is formalised by way of it own Act of Parliament. It is my understanding that the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act 1995 is the final determinant of what takes place on Vellenoweth Green. The level of detail contained in the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act 1995 would align with Vellenoweth Green having its own precinct plan or park specific controls. d) The Planner s evidence also discusses smaller public open spaces that are zoned Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation, such as Vellenoweth Green. It states that the height in relation to boundary control and the yard controls will ensure that buildings on public open space will not dominate neighbouring properties. However it is my understanding that the height in relation to boundary control does not apply to the southern part of Vellenoweth Green. This is because it only applies where a public open space zone directly adjoins a site in another zone. In those cases the height in relation to boundary control that apply to the adjoining zone applies to the adjoining public open space boundary. The residential areas surrounding the southern part of Vellenoweth Green on its eastern, western and southern boundaries are adjacent to the site and not directly adjoining. Therefore the yard set back is also affected, being reduced from 5 meters to 3 meters. The potentially most affected residential properties are those located on the southern side of Goldie Street, south of the St Heliers Tennis and Bowling Clubs. The construction of a 15 meter high building or structure, which equates to between approximately 5 stories, has the potential to cause significant adverse effects on the adjoining residential areas through loss of sunlight, daylight, views and visual amenity. e) The Council s Planner went on to state that he had assessed whether a lessor permitted building height such as 8 to 10 meters could be applied to smaller public open spaces such as bowling and tennis clubs. He stated that in his opinion that this is not appropriate, as the combination of controls for the zone provide a sufficient degree of control over potential environmental effects. It is my understanding that most local tennis and bowling clubs are moderate in scale. They are characterised by their tennis courts, bowling greens and clubhouses, which are 1 or 2 storied buildings of a small to medium size. This is the case on Vellenoweth Green. In addition most of these facilities are located in residential areas and are primarily to provide recreational facilities for the local community. They are not citywide or regional facilities. It is therefore it is not clear why the Council considers that they need a 15 meter building height.

6 f) The Council Planner s evidence stated in clause 19.9 of his report that the building heights in the notified version of the PAUP were agreed at mediation. This is incorrect. My husband and I are a prime submitter on the maximum building height in the Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation Zone. Neither my husband nor myself were able to attend the mediation for the Public Open Space Zones because we were overseas at that time. We advised the Councils Hearing Administrator for this topic - Thomas Erikson of this in writing prior to the mediation meetings. We were given to understand that this would not prejudice the outcome of the statutory process, as the mediation was the opportunity to have open discussions between all parties. The final decision being the responsibility of the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel. 10. Summary a. The operative statutory document, City of Auckland District Plan Isthmus Section zones the Vellenoweth Green a maximum height of 8 to 10 meters. b. The Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (PAUP) zones Vellenoweth Green a maximum height of 8 to 15 meters. c. The St Heliers Bay Reserve Act 1995 vests Vellenoweth Green as reserve and validates the occupancy of parts of the reserve by certain sporting clubs, while regulating the ability of those clubs to intensify their use of the reserve. d. The St Heliers Bay Reserve / Vellenoweth Green Management Plan 1996 states that it is desirable that the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act, its Management Plan and the Unitary Plan (previously the District Plan) are aligned and consistent for this reserve. It is disappointing that over 100 years since the Memorandum of Agreement for the Reserve known as Vellenoweth Green, and more recently the enacting of legislation in the form of the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act 1995, uncertainty once again exists around the purpose, nature and use of Vellenoweth Green. The Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan needs to accurately reflect the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act 1995 and Reserve Management Plan for Vellenoweth Green. The retention of the proposed Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation zone for the southern part of Vellenoweth Green would suggest that further development of the Green is possible. This is not consistent with legislation for Vellenoweth Green nor its Reserve Management Plan. The Vellenoweth Green is tightly controlled by the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act This Act does not provide for any additional uses or increased scale of activities and buildings. It does not permit buildings or structures to be any higher than they are today. Reducing the maximum building height of 15 meters to 8 meters by applying a different zone or precinct plan would align better with the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act Zoning and associated rules need to align with the St Heliers Bay Reserve Act This would be of benefit to the local community, as it would provide certainty for the ongoing future of the Vellenoweth Green.

7 11. Relief Sought 1.1. Change the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan zoning on the southern part of the Vellenoweth Green from Public Open Space: Sport and Active Recreation to Public Open Space: Informal Recreation. The Public Open Space: Informal Recreation zone has a maximum height of 8 meters and aligns better with the Reserve Management Plan and the Auckland City Council (St Heliers Bay Reserve) Act Or 1.2. Develop another Public Open Space zone or subzone to provide for local Tennis clubs and Bowling clubs that are of a small to moderate scale. This zone would have rules that provide for a lessor scale of building for example a maximum height of 8 meters. Or 1.3. Develop a precinct plan or reserve specific zoning for the St Heliers Bay Reserve / Vellenoweth Green. This would enable the Auckland Unitary Plan to provide a zoning and rules that are consistent with the Reserve Management Plan for the Vellenoweth Green and the Auckland City Council (St Heliers Bay Reserve) Act Attachments: 1. Location Plan and PAUP Zones 2. St Heliers Bay Reserve Act 1995 SO Plan 3. Vellenoweth Green Uses / Structures 4. Auckland City Council (St Heliers Bay Reserve) Act 1995

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