29 August, 2026

Flagstaff Notes

Some would describe Auckland Council’s response to Peninsula Capital’s fast-tracking application as fair-minded; to others it would appear limp. Council recognised there would be economic benefits to the project but said it was not demonstrated that the “application will have significant regional or national benefits”.
No regional or nationally significant infrastructure was proposed, it noted.
Some wording in the council submission was strange: “The scale and intensity of the application may result in an inconsistency with, if not a repugnance to, the RMA planning framework applying to the application site.” Eh?
Nowhere in the council submission does it say plainly that the tallest proposed building is twice the height allowed for Devonport village under current planning regulations.
Likewise, the potential effects of the project on Takarunga are only briefly mentioned and in lukewarm terms.
Much stronger opposition to the scale of the project and the fast-tracking mechanism was left to Trish Deans, chair of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. But the local board comments were left in a silo and not featured in the Auckland Council submission.
Whatever the council’s intention, the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT) interpreted its feedback as neutral, and recommended that Minister Chris Bishop okay the project for referral to a fast-track approvals panel. Which Bishop did.

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In the swirl of comments around Peninsula Capital’s plans for Devonport, some have focused on how tired and unkempt the town centre is.
True in some respects – the Esplanade is the glaring example – but not all. Take for example the recently revealed upgrade of the Princess Buildings opposite the Vic cinema (as pictured above).
It’s a tasteful restoration of the heritage frontage. It follows an upgrade of the Alisons’ Buildings down the same side of the street. Improvements are happening.
When will the same care and attention be paid to the Esplanade?

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In 2010, due to increased vandalism, the dragon-seat public artwork commissioned by North Shore City and made by Karen Kennedy around 2001 was moved from Ngataringa Bay to the hill overlooking New World. It was hoped a more public location would offer greater protection from desecration. A reader sent in a picture (right) last weekend showing pieces have been broken off the sculpture. In a word: senseless.