Waimauku West

Key data and Timeline

On 24 February 2025 Auckland Council was gazetting the acquisition of 1080 State Highway 16 (Pukeatua Block – the subject site) under the Public Works Act for cemetery purposes. The notice of intention was published on the Gazette website.

1st July 2025, councillor Greg Sayers did publish a post on his website that also addresses flooding but fails to highlight the actual issue. “Auckland Council needs to stop granting consents for houses in flood plains, particularly when this puts lives at risk.”.

While we obviously agree with that sentiment, it should be noted that this is not the only issue.

With more development outside the flood plains, the increased stormwater from those developments will broaden the existing flood plain and thus the harm to people that were never part of this.

He also states that “Keeping the roadside drains open and clear of blockages is equally important”. While this is important for the people living around those drains, the increased capacity and more importantly velocity will worsen the flooding and backflow downstream, again affecting people that were never part of any flood plain.

This is exactly what WCA is mostly concerned about as it is an unregarded issue, particularly for the Kaipara catchment due to its tidal character.

Late July 2025 members of the WCA have been writing emails to Kaipara Moana, Whititera Trust, Rodney Local Board, local MP Chris Penk and Chris Bishop, stating concerns about flood risks relating to the proposed housing development.

Only very few responses were received, mostly auto replies.

Stormwater Volumes Increase Flood Impacts

Waimauku West maintains their development is “flood neutral” meaning any event larger than a 10-year rain fall with an Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) of 1% will flow directly to the river which will already be in flood. The Resource Management Act (RMA) allows that scenario to occur.

AEP of 1% means that the flood volumes are modelled on a ten-year rainfall event happening 1% of the year, so the consent would be granted on the basis that 3.65 days a year the catchment can experience a 1 in 10 year rainfall event where all stormwater will bypass storage devices within the development and flow unfiltered and unrestrained directly to the Kaipara River.

1 in 100-year events are modelled the same way – it is acceptable under the RMA for the catchment to receive a 100-year rainfall event straight of the development to the river 3.65 days a year.

The development will turn 196 hectares of farmland into something like 80% impermeable surface, all that rain that would have soaked into the ground will now flow to the river.

Waimauku West should contain a 1 in 100-year event on their own land (they have an additional 800 hectares outside the proposed development they could utilise). The stormwater volume would be stored and its passage to the river delayed so it won’t add to the flooding.

Economic Benefits

The Fast-Track Act refers to the provision of much-needed housing.

The Council Economist was unconvinced of the benefits claimed by Waimauku West and the substantive application is required to expand on these claimed benefits.

Data from ANZ shows that there is no current short term nor medium term need for the housing proposed under the application. There are already seizable portions of undeveloped urban zoned land in Auckland. There is no need to convert highly productive farmland into urban lots.

When you look at the graphs below and analyse the demand supply curve over the past quarter-century the reality is that we seldom have a real shortage of dwellings and the abrupt spikes are short term and over reported in the media whilst being weaponised by politicians.

Fundamentally the supply and demand paradigm is a false narrative.

The data below is from a 2026 ANZ bank report on housing supply and demand

Infrastructure

Waimauku West is a development isolated from all the infrastructure needed to support it, those elements are not part of the application, there is no plan for them and therefore no funding – roading, public transport, waste water, drinking water, flooding and stormwater are all concerns echoed in the written comments received from the consultation for referral.

The development would more than double the population of Waimauku with none of the roading and transport infrastructure to support the increase in vehicle movements.

Bus and train services

Bus services from Waimauku to Westgate are only every 30 minutes during weekdays from 5.30am to 8.30am, and again from 4.30pm to 8pm.
From Westgate to Waimauku is half-hourly 7-8am, and 3pm to 8.30pm.
Outside those times the service runs hourly.
Weekend services are less often.

Train services are non-existent from Waimauku.
The closest train station is Swanson, approx. 25 minute drive away.

The bypass

The transport report of the Fast-Track application mentions that the development of the by-pass starts in 2028. That is not correct.

It is the work around the intersection of Coastesville-Riverhead Highway and SH16 that is planned for around then at this stage. That is quite different to the by-pass development.

Indicative School Sites

There is no certainty around the proposed school sites, a new high school has already been designated in Huapai, a process that took well over 25 years to be actioned.

Those school sites look good on paper, but they are a false promise.

The fact is – Ministry of Education have no new schools planned within the development.

Does Waimauku West Provide Climate Change Mitigation?

No, it does the opposite. Waimauku West will accelerate climate change effects by increasing flood volumes, eroding habitat for endangered species and pumping insecticide and fertiliser residue into the river and harbour.

The response from the parties invited to comment on the referral application states that the development will exacerbate existing environmental issues, in particular flooding.

Significant Ecological Areas (SEAs)

Waimauku West contains and is surrounded by SEAs, yet the applicant has only carried out “desktop” reviews and site visits. No site-based investigations that produce real life data, so no real understanding of cause and effect.

The development will obliterate native bat habitat and natural wetlands.

As affected parties we need to contribute to the ecological management plan for the SEAs.

Loss of Productive Land

When Auckland Council sought to acquire the land for a new cemetery in 2025, The Landowner stated to One News that the cemetery would take their best productive land where they made all their silage, they called the council plan ill-considered and said they did not think a cemetery would be an appropriate visual gateway to Waimauku or Helensville.

When council abandoned the cemetery acquisition it appeared to be a victory for the landowner, iwi and the wider community – that the land would remain as productive whenua.

However, The Landowner was already underway with their submission for fast-track referral – to turn that same highly productive land and visual amenity into more than 2,000 homes.

The Landowner should be honouring their 2025 publicly stated intention to retain the land as a productive whenua, showing some integrity and respecting the support the community provided when they sought to repel the council cemetery plan.