Henderson Valley/Opanuku Local Area Plan - Auckland Council

3. Heritage Features COnTInueDSection 25(3) of the Act: A LAP must — (b) identify the extent and nature of theheritage features existing in the local area 8The naturally functioning Opanuku Stream and itstributaries which originate in the Waitakere Ranges.The streams have not been dammed for water supplypurposes and contribute positively to downstreamecology, urban character, stormwater management,erosion control and flood protection, and waterquality is very good in the upper catchment. FairyFalls near the head of Stoney Creek is an impressivecascade of multiple waterfalls down the solid lavabedrock of the Ranges. In the lower valley the manytributaries cross the landscape and provide bothhabitat and visual separation, joining with the mainOpanuku Stream which provides a key definingfeature within the valley.activities provide for more social interaction, withina distinctive rural setting. The Valley has long been aplace of rest, respite and inspiration and contains alimited number of non-residential activities, includingfarm parks, vineyards, wine sales, retreats, spiritualcommunities and education camps, as well as adiverse range of home-based and rural businesses. The quietness and darkness of the Waitakere Ranges.Low levels of street lighting, generally low densitysettlement clustered on quiet lanes with limitedthrough traffic and houses screened by vegetationor setback from the main road contribute to arelatively dark night sky and a sense of sparsesettlement, particularly in the upper Valley andresidential enclaves. In the lower valley, largeractivities, sports fields and intersection lights andhigher traffic volumes result in isolated pockets ofmore active areas, but with a sense of peace and quietpredominating.Wilderness experiences, recreation and relaxation areprovided by a network of walking tracks, footpathsand viewing areas associated with the WaitakereRanges Regional Park. In the lower Valley, visitoractivities and facilities, education and retreat based Henderson Valley/Opanuku is a rural place with itsown intrinsic values. It also acts as a transition areafrom intensely urban areas through its rural areas intothe forested Waitakere Ranges and provides a contrastbetween both metropolitan Auckland to the eastand the forested Waitakere Ranges and west coast.The limited roading access though the Valley into theRanges and west coast also limits through traffic andvisitor numbers are generally low beyond the regionalpark trailheads and visitor generating activities.While many economically productive activities havedeclined, many properties are managed as lifestyleblocks, with pastoral grazing, horse sports and bushrestoration. These key small holding activities whichretain and enhance the rural character of the areaand represent opportunities for rural living and ruralactivities in close proximity to urban amenities arehighly valued by residents and visitors alike.settings adjoining and nestled within the forestedapron of the Waitakere Ranges. The proportion ofbuilt area to forest is very small with little potentialfor further development or subdivision beyondexisting vacant sites; and-the rural character of the lower Valley and itsintricate pattern of open and rolling farmland,orchards, vineyards, uncultivated areas, indigenousvegetation, streams and dispersed low densitysettlement with few urban scale activities.The proportion of buildings to open space isvery small, but there is potential for changethrough the subdivision and development of theremaining larger rural sites; and-the distinctive amenity of the low-densityresidential enclaves (on Grassmere, ngapukaand lower Opanuku and Mountain Roads) thatThe subservience of the built environment to the area’snatural and rural landscapes. This feature is reflected in:-the distinctive amenity of the sparse residentialsites that are located in the upper Valley amongstregenerating (and increasingly dominant) forest

3. Heritage Features COnTInueDSection 25(3) of the Act: A LAP must — (b) identify the extent and nature of theheritage features existing in the local areathe Valley and there is evidence of kainga and storagepits on what is now the Welsh Hills area, then calledPukearuhe, which can be translated as hill (puke) ofthe root of the bracken fern (aruhe), which grows wellon recently cleared and burned over land. Historicuse of the stream, the forest, and its resources andoccupation of the area including gardens and foodstorage has otherwise left little known permanentphysical evidence other than midden and someearth workings, but historical, traditional and culturalrelationships with the area are strong and enduring.overlap and merge with both the forested, steepercore of the Waitakere Ranges and the more openrolling, pastoral Valley. The proportion of builtarea to forest or open space is higher than theother two areas, with little potential for furtherintensification other than the development ofexisting vacant sites, with long narrow and almostsuburban style sections, slow and quiet rural lanes,visible dwellings and clear evidence of residentialsettlement and community. The historical, traditional and cultural relationships ofpeople, communities and tangata whenua with the areaand their exercise of kaitiakitanga and stewardship.These include tangata whenua and later europeanhistorical relationships and evidence of occupationand use, and those of the existing community withthe area. The area was part of the realms of the greatforest of Tiriwa, accessed only by the grace andfavour of Te Kawerau a Maki, who were also famousgardeners. Cultivation and settlement occurred within Evidence of past human activities, including those inrelation to occupation and use, timber extraction, gumdigging, flax milling, intensive farming and orcharding.The Valley is rich in archaeological and heritage sitesand is a cultural landscape of some significance. Ithas a number of historic structures and botanicalsites, as well as evidence of a range of past activities.The Valley was milled for timber using trip dams, dugover for gum and farmed intensively and extensively.Much evidence of these activities still remainsincluding orchards and vineyards, pastoral activities,glasshouses, poultry farms, dwellings and farmbuildings, and in changes to the characteristics of thewaterways and the forest remnants surrounding them. The distinctive community. Henderson Valley/Opanukuis a distinctive place, with its own unique identity andstrong sense of community, with a particular focuson the School and Community Hall as the centre ofcommunity life. The Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and its importanceas an accessible public place with significant natural,historical, cultural and recreational resources. A numberof stunning natural features and reserves are locatedwithin the Valley or directly accessible from it. A widenetwork of tracks and trails provide walking access tothis significant public resource.9

10Bathers and picnickers at the swimming hole at Camp Wesley, Opanuku Stream, c1930. Photo Courtesy Mary-Ann White/Baha’i National Centre

4. Character and amenity of Henderson Valley/OpanukuSection 25(2) of the Act. The purpose of a LAP is to— (a) promote the purpose of this Act and the objectives, and (b) provide objectives(particularly long term objectives) in relation to— (i) the future amenity, character, and environment of the local area to which the LAPapplies and (ii) the wellbeing of the local community within that area (including its economic and social wellbeing) Section 25(3) of the Act. A LAP must — (d) identify the distinctive natural, cultural, or physical qualities or characteristics of the localarea that contribute to the local area’s long-term— (i) pleasantness or aesthetic coherence, or (ii) cultural or recreational attributes.The Henderson Valley/Opanuku LAP definesboth the present and the long-term futurecharacter and amenity of the Henderson Valley/Opanuku area, in order to establish long termgoals of how the community should look andfeel in 50 or 100 years time. In this way, theLAP provides the basis for evaluating whetheractions, proposals or activities contribute to ordetract from the achievement of that desiredfuture, and for better assessing any adverseeffects on existing character and amenity.Why does ‘amenity’ matter?Amenity in simple terms relates to those aspects ofan area such as housing, open space, and recreationaland leisure activities which make it an attractive placeto live. In the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA),the term ‘amenity values’ is used to describe those partsof the environment that constitute the natural andphysical qualities and characteristics of an area thatcontribute to peoples’ appreciation of its pleasantness,aesthetic coherence and social, cultural and recreationalattributes. The term embraces both natural elements,such as forests, streams and landforms, and humanmade elements, such as hedgerows, land uses,buildings and roads. It also includes the arrangementor disposition of those things, their design, prominenceand effect on the landscape.In making decisions about the use of land andresources under the RMA, consideration must be givento the adverse effects that an activity might have on theenvironment, including amenity and ways that thoseeffects may be avoided remedied or mitigated. underthe Act, consideration must be given to the protection,restoration and enhancement of these amenity valueswhich are also termed ‘heritage features’. In this waythe Act applies a more pro-active and performancebased approach to the effects of development withinthe Heritage Area, particularly effects on the ‘heritagefeatures’ including under the processes of the RMA. Thisapproach also allows a long term, and goal orientedapproach to planning through the Character andAmenity statements, that ensures the heritage featurescontinue to function for the long term, in the way, andfor the reasons that they are valued today.Statement of Henderson Valley/Opanuku’sExisting Character and AmenityThe existing character and amenity of HendersonValley/Opanuku is defined by the following distinctivequalities:1. A rich rural heritageThe Valley has a long history of diverse rural uses,including historical hunting, food gathering andcultivation, then timber extraction, gum digging, flaxmilling, firewood collecting, pastoral farming, intensivefarming (including poultry production), and particularlyin the lower Valley, horticulture, glasshouses, vineyards,market gardens and orchards. Although there has beena decline in commercial-scale farming and horticulture,many sites are now used as ‘lifestyle blocks’ with a rangeof rural activities continuing – with their sights, soundsand smells contributing to a productive rural landscape.Many of the larger productive sites and activities arestill owned and operated by descendants of the originalsettler families. The area’s rich rural heritage is visiblein its modified rural landscapes andlandforms, land terracing, shelter belts,exotic vegetation, old sheds and other1111

4. Character and amenity of Henderson Valley/Opanuku COnTInueDbuildings, and the continued use and existence of manyof the buildings, paddocks and shelterbelts. A diversityof uses and features exists in the area that sets theserural roadscapes apart from others in the foothills andthe Auckland region.2. Landforms and landscapesThe Valley is a rural place that is markedly differentin its natural and rural character from metropolitanAuckland and other parts of the Heritage Area. Thereis a distinct contrast between metropolitan Aucklandand the rural Valley. In some places, the location of theedge and extent of metropolitan Auckland is highlyvisible and definitive, while in others such as along PineAvenue and lower Henderson Valley Road, the transitionis blurred by smaller fragmented properties, streamsiderecreation reserves and the Opanuku Stream floodplainwith only glimpses of a pastoral or vegetated ruralbackdrop. Despite limited pockets of more intensivehousing set amongst the predominantly larger ruralholdings, the contrast between urban Aucklandand the Heritage Area is significant and valued, andis enhanced by productive rural uses occurring upto the urban boundary. The maintenance of clearlydefined juxtaposition between ‘town’ and ‘country’,and retention of the Valley as a unique landscape andrural living environment is highly dependent on theretention of a relatively hard interface.The key ‘structuring elements’ of the naturallandscape in the Valley are: the primary Opanuku and secondary tributary valleysystems, contained by ridges and spurs that feedback into the main slopes and hill country of theWaitakere Ranges; the permeation of bush down from the Rangesthrough the valley corridors, generally followinglocal stream courses and the steeper escarpments;and the Opanuku, Anamata, Parekura, Driving, StoneyCreek, and Paremuka Streams together with theirsmaller tributaries.These defining features, together with the interactionand interplay of man made structures and activities allcontribute to the Valley’s visual landscape character.12Based on detailed assessment of the Valley’s sensitivityto modification, it is clear that apart from very specificand contained areas of lower sensitivity, there is littlepotential for further development or rural residentialintensification to occur without compromising corelandscape values. even within these areas of lowsensitivity, careful management of residential location,extent, design and appearance will be required toavoid breaching the threshold between rural and urbanand diminishing the values of maintenance of openspace, vegetation, stream corridors and bush remnants,relative spaciousness between buildings, and the strongcontrast between town and country, on which thecharacter of the Valley so depends.3. A Rural settlement patternThe Valley offers a range of rural living opportunities,from open pastoral holdings and enclosed bushblocks, to the residential enclaves, but all within closeproximity to the amenities of metropolitan Auckland.The lower Valley has characteristics that reflect anactive, working rural community, particularly on theremaining large properties. Lifestyle blocks with a widevariety of pastoral and rural uses also contribute to themaintenance of rural character and landscapes. A senseof spaciousness and separation between dwellingspervades, despite some pockets of more intensivedevelopment.While the natural, rural, built and visual character ofthe Valley is complex, contrasting, interlinked and varied,

4. Character and amenity of Henderson Valley/Opanuku COnTInueDthere are considered to be three broad, overlappingbands of landform, landscape, settlement and visualcharacter that individually and cumulatively contributeto the distinctive character and diversity of the widerarea, and may be used to distinguish broad characterand amenity between various parts of the Valley for thepurpose of developing policies and objectives. Thesecharacter areas are illustrated in Figure 2, and describedin more detail below:Lower Valley:Located between the forested Waitakere Ranges andurban Auckland, the predominantly pastoral andgently undulating “lower Valley” is characterised by thecontrast of lowland alluvial flats, rolling pasture, visuallyprominent ridgelines and the often very steep vegetatedescarpments.There is an intricate pattern of mainly exotic vegetation,pasture, horticulture and vineyard activity, uncultivatedwild areas, shelter belts that crisscross the landscape andareas of indigenous vegetation. Regenerating indigenousvegetation covers the steeper areas of the escarpmentsand in some areas along the riparian margins of theOpanuku Stream and some of its tributaries. The Schooland Hall and many other non-residential activities areon the flatter Valley floor scattered along the lengthof Henderson Valley Road towards metropolitanAuckland. Dwellings and buildings in the lower Valleyare subservient to the area’s rural and natural character.While they are often clearly visible from the roadsbetween shelterbelts and roadside vegetation, expansiveopen space between buildings of both open managedrural vistas and more natural landscapes enable themto be absorbed into the wider landscape. Buildings usedfor non-residential activitiesare clearly linked to ruralproduction, community use, orreflect the area’s rural heritage.13

4. Character and amenity of Henderson Valley/Opanuku COnTInueD14While they can be visually prominent, they sit comfortablywithin the broader rural landscape. Many sites particularlyin the lower Valley are served with a reticulated watersupply. Reticulated wastewater infrastructure is absent.Storm water infrastructure is informal, and the streams,particularly the Opanuku have expansive floodplains. Theroads are often winding, without formal concrete kerbs,gutters or footpaths. Those parts of Henderson ValleyRoad adjoining metropolitan Auckland have transportrelated infrastructure including footpaths of a more urbanstandard and design, reflecting the relatively high trafficvolumes experienced on the arterial routes of CandiaRoad and lower Henderson Valley Road. These roads andthe traffic they carry have reduced the relative quietnessand darkness of the areas immediately adjacent tothem, but in all other areas of the Valley, these qualitiespredominate and are highly valued. Many businessactivities in the area are small scale and take the formof home occupations. Other non-residential activitiesinclude the School, greenhouses, poultry farms, wineries,recreation and education camps, retreats, spiritual centresand rural visitor experiences.areas are protected in perpetuity within the WaitakereRanges Regional Park. The forested apron overlaps andobscures the arbitrarily imposed cadastral boundariesbetween private and public land. On private land,indigenous vegetation is dominant, gardens and lawnsassociated with the widely spaced houses are limitedand generally only glimpsed down driveways tunnelledthrough the forest. Roads are narrow and winding,constructed to follow the steep contours and skirtinglarge trees growing up to the road edge. In places theroads provide dramatic views of the forest, the valleybelow and the wider Auckland landscape; in others theyare overarched by a dramatic cathedral of emergentcanopy trees. In the upper Valley, minimal street lighting,low traffic vo

from Henderson Valley/Opanuku's location, character and history. These attributes make up the foundation for Henderson Valley/Opanuku's environmental and landscape quality and its economic, social and community wellbeing and stability into the future. Importantly there is an understanding that the threats to this character and