AGM 2025 guest speaker – Simon Barber
Responding to requests from the wider Pukerua bay community, here are notes from the guest speaker portion of our latest AGM meeting.
Simon Barber, Pukerua Heights Residential Estate development manager for their current development off Muri Road.
Simon shared some slides of the Muri Road developments noting:
- Silt retention ponds to collect runoff which will make room for the entrance once finished. 144 sites in 6 stages as the market dictates.
- All the pine trees will be taken down.
- Top of stage one – pine trees out, platform for first sites. SNA is fenced off to protect the trees there. Once upper area stabilised the proper access area will be put in.
- Stage two the old woolshed and pine trees will be removed.
- Even though it’s hilly sections are benched out for the houses.
- When trees come down we grind the stumps and mulch the slash then use the mulch to stabilise the site and allow vegetation to grow through.
- Area above the site there is 50 hectares of native bush that PCC says has ecological significance. We want to bring development to the edge of it so people can access that block.
Questions from the floor:
(Community questions in bold, Simon’s answers in italic)
Ultimately the access road will service how many houses?
The council’s plan is to put a roundabout at the entrance to Mt Welcome Station. The plan is to link up the site to that roundabout as well have the access road onto Muri. The Mt Welcome development are applying for consent now.
17 houses will definitely use the Muri Road access. The other southern access will be more years away and will go around the outside of the wetlands.
What about the kiwi that lives on Muri Road?
Nature is front and centre.
Muri Road
The road is narrower than it was with border, People can’t go on the verge now. It’s narrower and cars come down fast. What’s happening in the future?
There will be no more heavy trucks beyond the number that are going through now. Whole road will be sealed once works are complete.
We spent $120K on a plan to have access direct from Highway 59 to the south but PCC wouldn’t allow it.
All work on the road-side is in the council corridor so all in the PCC plan. We’re following their plan including restoration of the area.
Muri road is designated as a Slow road. What are doing to make it safe?
Consent is comprehensive and we’ll follow the plan. Simon suggests – we should arrange a joint meeting with council about the issues. Will be a give way sign from new site onto Muri Road.
Can the same restrictions as the logging trucks be put on the building trucks? Eg during school hours.
Good idea, yes.
Please talk to natural space and waterways.
After the silt retention ponds are no longer needed, the subdivision will have rain gardens for stormwater.
Paper road towards Gray Rd has waterway. A path coming through paper road – will be part of the future development.
There’s a reserve with walking track towards railway station. Green areas protected and SNA.
You haven’t given us visuals of the buildings themselves. When will we see them and how high will you be able to go?
Same as anywhere in PCC – 8m height. Mix of single and double story. Some townhouses and standalone. We will also sell sections.
(Note: supplied visuals had been put on RA website – link here)
All residential zoning and you can do what you want on standalone sections (within PCC rules).
Stages 5&6 don’t have water yet so needs to wait for the new reservoir to be built.
Sections will be open to buy.
Who owns the trees? How many houses will fit in the entire block?
We’ve cleared trees but haven’t sought consent for all of it.
We haven’t sought approval for other stages than the current 144 sites.
Nga Tahu Property and Pukerua Holdings are developing Pukerua Heights as a joint venture (Pukerua Bay Limited Partnership).
Pukerua Holdings own the remainder of the block beyond the initial 144 sites under development.
60-65% of the entire site will remain in wetlands and native bush. All the various blocks north of Plimmerton (Mt Welcome etc) are part of Northern Growth Strategy.
We think it will take 6 -10 years to build the current section. Growth will be at pace of market.
Possibly 20 or 30 houses a year.
All the trees will be mulched or buried. No burning is currently planned although they have burnt waste to the south.
Infrastructure. Why didn’t know about this 3 years ago?
144 residences are in the current development and this area has always been zoned residential for the last 50 years . Future schools and other infrastructure things part of the northern growth strategy. This is PCC led. We’re only looking at this section off Muri Road.
Reservoir will be built later to service some of the block and another block to the south. They are applying for consent now and will take a couple of years to build.
Paper road. Path coming through paper road. Not zoned in this area – will be part of the future. No planning has been done as part of our initial block.
Sewerage connections – are they already in?
As our block already had zoning, our connections are into the existing network. Some will be connected to the south in the future.
Wastewater? Thought at we were at capacity?
Some of the wastewater will be going through a new pumping station. The new station caters for other places as well as the new houses.
As a Muri Road resident I have to phone people you to find out what’s going on.
For future reference I think you can do better communicating with us that are affected with trucks sitting in our driveway etc.
156 points in our resource consent and we’ve done our best to follow it.
What happened to the consultation we did about the Northern Growth?
(Paul and Moira) Northern Growth Area Special Development Project – was halted by a change of government.
Can you supply us more information?
Yes, we’ll put it through the website.
Street lighting?
Our designers design it and approved by council. Send something to me and I’ll send you more information.
I’m happy to fill the knowledge gaps.
ACTION
Be great to have a joint meeting with RA, Simon Barber and Council. Many concerned about the speed of traffic on Muri Road and have points that need to be addressed by council roading people.
The full AGM minutes will be posted once approved.