Development levy system ‘music to the ears’

The Awakeri Wetlands is a long-term project to turn peaty, flood-prone former farmland at Takanini, in Auckland’s south, into sites suitable for housing.At the opening of the first stage in November 2020, the council-run Our Auckland website reported that the wetland channel was much more than a large-scale piece of stormwater infrastructure; it was a re-creation of an ancient kauri swamp.This is clearly a great public asset of high ecological value, and given the $100 million-plus project is expected to pave the way for new homes for 15,...