WINTON FAST TRACK: Down go the DCs for Papakura?

🏘️ 👏 WINTON FAST TRACK: Down go the DCs for Papakura?

Great to see Winton Land’s Sunfield project gaining fast-track approval with their commitment to address stormwater infrastructure needs!

This 4,000-home development will be contributing to extensions of the Awakeri Wetlands, which is a positive step toward proper infrastructure funding.

According to the 2023 business case documents, the remaining Awakeri Wetlands stages have significant costs that Winton seem to be helping to fund along with any other new homes in that specific area… not the brownfield in-fill outside of clearly documented streets/lots.

The following Awakeri information comes from a Official Information Act release (Business Cases for 2018 and 2023). I obtained the information when reviewing the 2025 proposed DCs because the cost increase for Papakura was astronomical.

I couldn’t really figure out how much was being paid and for what (I am waiting to get more information) so this is my best interpretation:

There was a lot of land being bought (Stage 1 seems to have been a huge cost).

Initial investigation, design and consenting for Stages 2-4 (related to more Greenfield rezoning): $1,907,678 • Full project cost including construction and contingency: $51,763,403 (according to my reading of the 2023 BC)

For context, Stage 2 includes a culvert crossing under Cosgrave Road with connecting channels, Stage 3 delivers approximately 0.8km of open waterway to service 55 hectares of Future Urban zoned land, and Stage 4 provides stormwater network upgrades to McLennan Wetlands.

This MIGHT BE a welcome shift, as previously small in-fill housing developments in Papakura were charged around $24,000 per standalone or duplex house for stormwater contributions – they created NO demand for it and were contributors from a distance (not quite following my understanding of the s199D (a), (b), or (d) of the LGA (2002). I could not get my mind around how Council decided to charge the other houses for Awakeri

With Winton now taking responsibility for extending these wetlands as part of their development, there’s an opportunity to reassess development contribution groupings to ensure costs are distributed fairly.

The original 90% allocation to “growth” rather than flooding suggests the primary purpose was always to enable major greenfield developments like Sunfield.

“Therefore Winton is comfortable proceeding with Sunfield and other green-fields projects at this time,” he said.

Hopefully this marks a positive trend toward more equitable infrastructure funding that accurately reflects who creates demand and who benefits from these substantial investments?

Mostly, I hope that COUNCIL reassesses the $58,555 charge on the stormwater development contributions for Papakura — they are predicting 90 houses, I couldn’t see the 4,000 homes figure in the growth figures — unless I have completely missed something?