Beach Haven

It was illustrated with a proposed housing development in Beach Haven on the North Shore that will add 81 new homes – 18 studios, 39 one-bedrooms, and 24 two- ...

Neighbourhoods are already overrun by cars to the detriment of other options, and snarled with traffic at least twice a day. Three storeys is not at all out of place, and the Beach Haven development will fit right in with existing neighbours. As the Coalition for More Homes spokesperson Oscar Sims noted in the Herald editorial, new housing is ideally put in places that are more central and more accessible, and close to amenities: employment, shops, schools, transport. Without developments like this, locals will ultimately have to tolerate higher rates for a lower quality of public services! More housing in our seaside suburbs is hardly surprising: one of the things people love about this city is easy access to the beach. At the same time, Auckland is a city of villages, and every “village” grows over time. [Beach Haven isn’t a village], it’s a 15 minute drive from the CBD of Auckland, and has a regular commuter ferry stop. That’s a pretty common suburban typology – you even see plenty of single-family houses that height. Ageing or failing infrastructure needs to be upgraded regardless of how many people are using it. There’s a ferry (which, as with Hobsonville, could do with more regular services) and a frequent bus, which will see improved service thanks to the climate-action targeted rate (CATR). One of the attendees fought back tears. Crispin Robertson, who organised the meeting, was also concerned that the area wasn’t right for young singles.