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High-density housing will be prohibited in parts of Henderson, Milford and Māngere from today, as new rules take effect to reduce flood risk in vulnerable Auckland areas.

After being unable to prevent about 4000 new builds in hazard zones since the devastating floods of 2023, Auckland Council now has the power to restrict development in flood-risk and landslide areas.

This follows changes to Auckland’s planning rulebook, now open for public consultation and taking effect today, which enable greater intensification while strengthening protections against natural disasters.

Under the new rules, about 12,000 properties most at risk from natural hazards are being “downzoned”, making new developments on them harder or not permitted at all. Of the properties, 2000 are in floodplains.

In the worst-affected flood areas, such as parts of Henderson, Milford and Māngere, only single houses will be allowed to be built.

The Eastern Bays suburbs of Kohimarama, Mission Bay and St Heliers, plus Browns Bay on the North Shore, are the areas most impacted by coastal erosion. About 10,000 properties are subject to coastal erosion.

West Auckland was hit hard by the Auckland floods in 2023.
West Auckland was hit hard by the Auckland floods in 2023.

According to John Duguid, the council’s general manager of planning and resource consents, the new powers require any development in a hazard zone to undergo a stricter assessment than before.

Resource consent applications will face tougher risk assessments and require clear evidence that any build can withstand the impacts of more extreme weather.

“The stronger hazard rules will apply regardless of whether a zone allows apartments, terraced houses, high-rise buildings or single homes,” Duguid said.

Among the changes are:

• “non-complying” activity status used to assess consents for development in high-risk areas, giving the council the strongest ability to determine whether development can go ahead.
• tighter risk assessments for development in locations impacted by natural hazards in any zone, raising the bar that must be met for an activity to be approved.
• downzoning to single-house zones in the worst-affected areas, such as parts of Henderson, Milford and Māngere, to limit density and exposure.
• updated mapping so Aucklanders have an up-to-date view of the natural hazards that could impact their area.
• natural systems protected so floodplains and overland flow paths are protected from being built over

The changes come only days after the council made it easier to understand the potential risks from natural hazards, such as flooding and coastal erosion, when buying and selling homes.

The council has improved Land Information Memorandums (Lims) as part of new legislation and launched a free online tool that allows users to search for flood risk by address and view landslide risk maps by area.

Council planning director Megan Tyler. Photo / Corey Flemming

Council planning director Megan Tyler said development in flood-risk areas was a challenge the council had been working to overcome since the 2023 floods.

“Along with Auckland’s communities, the council has carried out a great deal of advocacy to get tighter rules and Plan Change 120 allows us to bring these in quickly, to better protect communities as soon as possible,” Tyler said.

Under the Resource Management Act, any rules relating to natural hazards must take effect as soon as a plan change is notified. They can be amended following the public submission process.

John Tookey, a professor of construction management at AUT, has been calling for a realistic and pragmatic solution to building on floodplains, saying 100-year events are occurring every two or three years.

Tookey welcomed the changes to restrict the proliferation of new housing in marginal zones, saying the big question is to what degree it will be applied retrospectively.

“The question is what effect will this have on existing developments in some of these marginal zones, particularly when it comes to issues like housing insurance and the saleability of a pre-existing property in a marginal zone,” he said.

Tookey said transparency will be key, particularly in how the new rules are applied across the “shades of grey” affecting people who have bought in marginal development zones, including areas recently built, currently under construction or earmarked for future development.

“I’ve no doubt the council will be absolutely, critically aware of the fact they really don’t want the proverbial [disaster] to eventuate, with accusations flying of favouritism and that sort of thing,” he said.

Coastal erosion saw many houses destroyed at Muriwai when Cyclone Gabrielle struck. Photo / George Heard

Peter McNally, who lost his home in North Piha when Cyclone Gabrielle struck the remote coastal settlement, said the council must take some responsibility for allowing homes to be built on floodplains and other vulnerable areas.

“If someone buys a home in a low-lying area barely above sea level and it floods,” McNally said, “my theory is everything should be pulled back.

“Start moving houses and people away from low-lying areas as fast as you can.”

Public consultation on the new hazard zone rules is part of Plan Change 120, which promotes greater intensification near City Rail Link stations, along key transport corridors and in town centres and suburbs. Submissions close on December 19.