Residents in a Hastings neighbourhood have been fighting Hastings District Council and Kāinga Ora for three years over a 15-home development they say will squeeze homes onto the site “like sardines in a tin”.
By Linda Hall of Local Democracy Reporting
Group spokesperson Lee Russell said despite their concerns - and despite the application breaching aspects of the council’s own district plan around density - resource consent had been granted for the development on Kaiapo Rd.
Russell said the group was not opposed to development. Kāinga Ora’s initial plan for the area was for a 32-home development across two sites, but this has been scaled back due to the group’s concerns.
“We support the need for additional housing in Hastings. We support Kāinga Ora providing homes for New Zealand families.
“What we are opposed to is the sheer number of houses being squeezed onto such a small piece of land, like sardines into a tin.”
She said the council had initially “cut them off at the knees” by not notifying residents of what was coming.
“All we are asking for is a fair hearing from the people we have elected.
“If the council keeps approving housing developments on this scale, it is going to wreck Hastings.”
A council spokesperson said the medium-density housing development needed a resource consent because it did not meet several district plan standards.
“For example, the development has an average density of about one dwelling per 212sq m of net site area, compared with the General Residential Zone subdivision standard of 350sq m per site,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said not meeting a district plan standard did not automatically mean an application must be publicly notified, limited-notified or declined.
In September 2025, the council also made changes to its district plan.
Plan Change 5 - Right Homes, Right Place - makes it easier for developers to build more houses on one site in its Medium Density and General Residential Zones.
It allows houses up to three storeys high. The council website says “if all the rules are met, medium density developments can proceed without affected persons’ consent or neighbours’ approval.”
The spokesperson said the Resource Management Act set out the tests council must apply when deciding whether an application should be publicly or limited notified.
They said one key question was whether the development’s effects were likely to be more than minor.
If not, the application may not need to be notified.
“Minor in this context is a legal test, rather than a measure of how serious the impacts may seem to nearby residents.”
They also looked at what could be built on the site under the district plan without needing consent.
The council decided that, compared with that option, the proposal wouldn’t have enough significant effects to require public notification.
But Russell says documents released to the group under a Local Government Official Information (LGOIMA) show “important” questions regarding infrastructure existed during the application process, including about stormwater capacity in the area.
The council spokesperson said officers raised issues during the assessment process and further information and design changes were required to address them.
Engineering or design changes during the assessment process were not unusual, and the changes made were not significant enough to change the nature and character of the development, the council spokesperson said.
Russell said they had spent years working with Kāinga Ora and were preparing a petition asking it to pause and review the design.
“We even sent them a detailed alternative design at their request with 17 single-storey homes. But they have now walked away from talks and gone to a completely different design,” Russell said.
Kāinga Ora regional director East North Island Graeme Broderick said Kāinga Ora had worked closely with the local community throughout planning for the development, holding several information sessions since 2023, sharing updated designs, listening to feedback and answering residents’ questions.
“We heard concerns about the scale of the original proposal and reduced the development from two sites to one.
“The consented development will deliver 15 homes, rather than the 32 homes originally proposed across both sites,” Broderick said.
“While it has taken time to finalise plans, our focus has been on achieving the best outcome for the community and delivering much-needed social housing in Hastings, where demand remains high.”
The council spokesperson said the application underwent assessment of infrastructure, natural hazards, traffic and parking, density, urban design, residential amenity and contaminated land.
“Further information and changes were required during that process before the final assessment was made.”
Workers have been on-site this week.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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