Photo \/ Anna\u00a0Heath<\/p>\n
Residential heavyweight Wolfbrook purchased the 77.66ha property at a mortgagee sale and plans to convert the 18 rolling fairways and undulating greens into 1000 homes, to be known as Pegasus West.<\/p>\n
To do that, it must first have the land reclassified from Special Purpose zone to residential. That requires either gaining approval from a long list of entities who seem likely to decline it \u2013 or by taking the relatively new route of Fast-Track. The first attempt to do so was declined by the Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop last week.<\/p>\n
Wolfbrook has released its proposed masterplan for a 1000-home development on the former Pegasus Golf Course. The plan is indicative only and subject to change. Supplied \/ Wolfbrook<\/p>\n
In his decision, Bishop said that it would be \u201cmore appropriate to deal with the matters that would be authorised by the proposed approvals under another Act or Acts\u201d. Those acts are many and complicated to navigate. <\/p>\n
The project had sought several approvals through the fast-track approvals process, including: <\/p>\n
– Resource consents and change or cancellation of a resource consent condition under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) <\/p>\n
– Concessions under the Conservation Act 1987 <\/p>\n
– Wildlife permits under the Wildlife Act 1953 <\/p>\n
– Archaeological approvals under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014 <\/p>\n
– Approvals under the Freshwater Fisheries Regulations 1983. <\/p>\n
Alternatively, Wolfbrook can reassess its application and try Fast-track again, from scratch. It has already announced its intention to do just that, and Pegasus residents are bracing themselves for another challenge. Residents like the owners of Brockenhurst. <\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine 1000 houses, living next to 1000 houses,\u201d say the owners, who wish to remain anonymous. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust losing that green space, and then I think actually what\u2019s gonna happen to the wildlife, to the swans, the geckos, as you can see there\u2019s a big family of swans coming up now.\u201d<\/p>\n
A family of swans on the pond at Brockenhurst. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath. <\/p>\n
They could have walked away. Wolfbrook, they say, approached them about buying their property after purchasing the golf course. It was a short conversation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no negotiation.\u201d <\/p>\n
They\u2019ve lived here for two and a half years, having traded in farm life for a semi-suburban lifestyle on their significant chunk of Pegasus. <\/p>\n
From the outside looking in as much as the inside looking out, Brockenhurst could be a haven for the reclusive. Protected by thick bush with a stylish and private home in the middle, it offers a detachment from community that this family has refused to accept. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s because we\u2019ve got a young son and we\u2019ve just been able to form connections with people. People are really passionate about Pegasus, as you\u2019ve probably picked up on, and I wouldn\u2019t want to live anywhere else.\u201d <\/p>\n
Instead, they\u2019ve immersed themselves in their neighbourhood and more recently joined the fight against Wolfbrook\u2019s proposed development. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know that it\u2019s shown our kids that if something\u2019s not right, you need to stand up for it, and I know our son\u2019s probably sick of us talking about it. He charges us money every time we talk about it,\u201d the owners say.<\/p>\n
The owners of Brockenhurst at Pegasus are determined to maintain the green space that the golf course provides \u2013 and the sense of community that they believe it encourages. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath. <\/p>\n
Brockenhurst is both surrounded by the golf course and shielded from it. A wall of blue gums on its eastern boundary prevents wayward drives from the 18th tee box as the final fairway wraps its way around their fence line. Until recently, there was a dense layer of blackberry bush as well. Thousands of dollars in golf balls were cleared along with the invasive weed as they prepare to grass the clearing. Eventually. That\u2019s their idea of development. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor us it looked like a project, but we just loved the wildlife. Fantails just follow you around. There\u2019s a white heron that comes in most days and sits on the tree. We\u2019ve got eels in the lake, and we just thought, what an amazing project and a place to live.\u201d <\/p>\n
This property is something of an enigma. A sanctuary for wildlife with the privacy and adventure of a rural homestead, while being 900m from a McDonald\u2019s restaurant and New World supermarket. The chatter of birdlife masks the hum of SH1. If they were looking for the best of both worlds, they found it on Mapleham Drive.<\/p>\n
Matt Potter is a Pegasus resident as well as a local community board member. He was part of the group who delivered the petition to Parliament. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath<\/p>\n
They\u2019re not the only ones who struck their own idea of gold at Pegasus. Matt Potter and his family moved from Auckland just a few years back, amazed at how much bang their buck had here \u2013 and unaware of the community they were buying into. <\/p>\n
\u201cNot knowing anyone in the South Island, we actually built our friend base and things around the golf club. I\u2019m a resident on the course and started playing golf, made friends, realised that they have kids, our kids have become friends. Suddenly you\u2019re part of the community, so it was a real in for us moving down here,\u201d Potter said. <\/p>\n
When the previous owner of the course found financial trouble and closure loomed, it was Potter and a group of friends who formed the Guardians \u2013 a collective who maintained the upkeep of the course and kept it in a playable condition. They expected that the cavalry would arrive. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll along we were told, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about it, a golf course operator\u2019s buying it\u2019. And then at the very last minute, it wasn\u2019t,\u201d Potter said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt never gave us a chance to actually consider that this might happen. We just thought it would literally be a new owner and business as usual and, hopefully, a better owner than the one we had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolfbrook let them continue to maintain the course until June 1. That was the settlement date. The sleepless nights began a few weeks before then. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s constantly been on our mind. We built a dream home for our little kids and our family, with all the space around us and the golf course and the community. It really shakes you to your core thinking that everything could be changed without what we\u2019d consider proper consultation,\u201d Potter said.<\/p>\n
Aimee Cahill and her family moved into their home on Pegasus Golf Course in September last year. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath. <\/p>\n
Aimee Cahill also lives on course and tells a similar story to Potter \u2013 a story they say echoes across Pegasus residents. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe moved from Auckland, and we scouted lots of places in Christchurch, but driving through Pegasus, through the golf course, that was just the sense of \u2018whoa\u2019, this is something you don\u2019t see anywhere else,\u201d Cahill said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever experienced a community like this, and I\u2019ve lived in four different countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dream home hasn\u2019t quite become a nightmare \u2013 but the situation has also cost them plenty of sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe only moved into that house in September, so it was … \u2018Just what have we bought into?\u2019 Every time you look out the window you go, \u2018Well, how long am I going to enjoy this for?\u2019\u201d Cahill said.<\/p>\n
The northwestern boundary of Brockenhurst. The unique property is home to local wildlife, and less than 1km from a fast food restaurant and supermarket. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath. <\/p>\n
Potter was part of the Pegasus Residents Group that took a 16,000-strong petition to Parliament in July. They had the support of local MP Matt Doocey and Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon, and local Labour MP Dan Rosewarne. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve been extremely respectful, but comprehensive in how we\u2019ve gone about it,\u201d Potter said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done the petition, and we\u2019ve done our lobbying and all the things that are going on behind the scenes. We\u2019ve just done everything we can to get our voices heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their voices spoke against the use of Fast-track legislation in this project and in similar developer-led submissions. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very pleased that what we consider is a completely inappropriate use of the Fast-track legislation has been turned down,\u201d Potter said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing piece of legislation for getting the things built that need to be built like solar farms and hydro projects and all that sort of stuff that actually drives the the country forward, but, as with anything, if you present people with something, they find a way to maximise it for their gain and developers have caught onto it and tried to use it this way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The feeling from Potter and the Pegasus Residents Group is of vindication in challenging the use of Fast-track. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just a one-way road for developers. And it\u2019s potentially the first of others being declined,\u201d Potter said.<\/p>\n
Dual fairways wrapping around the northwestern boundary of Brockenhurst. Wolfbrook plans to redevelop the land as residential. Photo \/ Anna Heath. <\/p>\n
The ball now is very much back in Wolfbrook\u2019s court, and, in a statement, the company outlined that it was fully committed to returning serve. It believes that Fast-track is an appropriate avenue for its proposal – saying that it sought approval there because it had the potential to deliver \u201ca significant number of new homes in one of Canterbury\u2019s fastest growing communities\u201d at a time when housing need in the region is high. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe would note that the Fast-track Approvals Act specifically says that the minister may consider whether a project will increase the supply of housing, address housing need, or contribute to a well-functioning urban environment,\u201d the company said in a statement, adding that the Pegasus development ticked all of those boxes. <\/p>\n
Wolfbrook said claims that the Waimakariri District already had sufficient land available to meet housing demand for the next 30 years should be \u201cconsidered carefully\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have heard similar forecasts before. Rolleston was once said to have decades of land supply available, but growth moved far faster than expected and that position changed within a matter of years.\u201d <\/p>\n
Wolfbrook is also questioning whether its application was fairly heard. <\/p>\n
\u201cWolfbrook is considering its options in relation to the minister\u2019s decision, which came 15 working days after the application was lodged and did not engage with the merits of the application. The application had been deemed as complete and within scope by the EPA just five days prior.\u201d <\/p>\n
Since the proposal was declined, Wolfbrook has released renders of what the Pegasus West development might look like.<\/p>\n
Wolfbrook has released its proposed masterplan for a 1000-home development on the former Pegasus Golf Course. The plan is indicative only and subject to change. Supplied \/ Wolfbrook<\/p>\n
The owners of Brockenhurst note that the images from Wolfbrook show that it intends to build under the wall of blue gum trees on the eastern boundary and fill in a pond on the golf course side. <\/p>\n
The image shows a full transformation from the green space that showcases the entrance to Pegasus to a large-scale residential development. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou put housing on this, it just turns into a soulless suburbia,\u201d Potter says. <\/p>\n