Urban design panel is a growth industry

Instead of a small panel meeting when required, then weekly, it’s grown to a total 24 members, 2 panel meetings are constituted every week and the workload is about to be extended into the suburbs and across to the Hauraki Gulf islands. The panellists are a mixture of academics, professionals & some property industry nominees.

The panel had its genesis in opposition to the AMP NZ Office Trust’s PricewaterhouseCoopers Tower (right) on the downtown waterfront, which got non-notified resource consent in 2000.

Metropolis apartment block developer Andrew Krukziener, a director of the company which owned the One Queen St office block, across the foot of Albert St from the new AMP development, called AMP’s proposal ugly.

Property law specialist Kerry Knight, also a director of No 1 Queen Ltd, said the real issue was the lack of scrutiny given the proposal when it was granted consent and once work had started. "It goes over the height limit in a very public spot and the public's had no input,” he said.

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