The project involves trucking treated wastewater to Whangārei because Watercare will not be able to connect any water services to the area until at least 2050.

Delmore, by developers Vineway, a development vehicle for greenfield specialists Myland Partners, is a proposed housing estate plus a commercial area, two neighbourhood parks and associated infrastructure, including building an interchange at Ōrewa.

Brown told the Herald he’d asked who approved the project.

“Because an expert that comes up with this would not qualify in my view as an expert,” he said.

While the council hadn’t yet made its decision, he thought the public would be outraged too.

“Sending truckloads of treated effluent to Whangārei... that is not a good result.

“I didn’t realise Whangārei was short of effluent, that they would want that.

“I would say the people who live there will probably appeal it as well, it’s very hard to justify that sort of stuff.”

Watercare made it clear in the application it wouldn’t be able to connect any water services to the area until at least 2050.

The developers have had a number of conditions placed on them, including building an on-site wastewater treatment plant and stormwater discharge system, keeping indigenous vegetation and constructing other infrastructure such as retaining walls, communal rain gardens and water pumps.

Water and wastewater will have to be provided privately, and managed by a residents’ association.

Watercare CEO Jamie Sinclair officially opened the Central Interceptor on Monday.

And while he promised the water entity was working hard on other projects across the sprawling city, growth needed to be managed.

“We support the Auckland Council future development strategy, and we have no plans to service that area for decades.”

Watercare CEO Jamie Sinclair, speaking at the Central Interceptor opening, says growth across Auckland needs to be managed. Photo / Corey Fleming

He said Watercare made its view clear in the Delmore application.

“Our concern is we’re building the Central Interceptor. We spent $1.6b on an amazing piece of infrastructure that we want to maximise the use of.

“That’s where we want to come from in terms of how we get the best use of this public resource and the public funds that have been put towards these assets.

“We want to make sure that happens, and obviously with these private servicing developments that doesn’t happen. It’s a decision we’ll work with council on. But certainly, it does make things a bit more challenging.”

He said Watercare would leave it up to the council whether to challenge the decision.

Hills, who was also chairman of the planning committee, briefed media on Monday about decisions related to Plan Change 120.

He’d earlier told the Herald the council was receiving a couple of fast-track applications a month, causing chaos for staff and adding to already stretched workloads.

“It is a really difficult story to explain to the public, that intensification is important and we should be zoning and allowing people to build homes near infrastructure and then fast-tracks are coming in, council opposes them, and then suddenly we... get whiplash because we’re having to think about how we’re going to serve and build infrastructure in literally random fields,” Hills said.

He described developments such as Delmore as “out of sequence” growth.

“If you’re seeing what’s happening on the edges of the city with the fast-tracks, you know, 1000, 2000-home developments in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no infrastructure, this [Plan Change 120] gives a far clearer direction to communities, to developers, and to others that actually, here is the place you should be building.

“I understand there’s a lot of strain on our communities right now, no matter where you live. But actually thousands of homes being built in the middle of farmland where there’s no future plan for wastewater, water supply or transport, it makes a lot more sense to have the next generation living in and close to current amenities and transport.”

The council is still considering whether to appeal the fast-track approval.

A statement from property developer Andrew Allsopp-Smith last week said Vineway “is pleased with the panel’s draft decision to approve Delmore”.

“We’re currently reviewing the consent and its conditions in detail and it would be premature to comment further until that review is complete,” the statement said.

Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for 10 years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.