The Waikanae North development mentioned in Thursday’s post envisions 800 houses being built in the 70 hectares (700,000 sq metres) of farmland it bought in this area in 2006. The company has bulldozed some of the land, and as well as extending Parata Street, has put in place a road leading from David Street into it.

The company’s blurb states that it plans “a mix of houses, apartments, retirement accommodation, lifestyle blocks, a village square, shops and parks”.

In 2008, the Ministry of Education bought 3.2 hectares of the land for a proposed primary school and in 2010 Ryman Healthcare was understood to have paid $7 million for 7 hectares of it.

The development of Ryman’s $100 million Charles Fleming Retirement Village is now almost complete. Two years ago a plan was released, below, for 137 lots for sale to the public varying in size from 400 square metres to 1,400 square metres.

According to the company, a 2 hectare community domain is being developed although there is little evidence of it as yet.

The first stage of the company’s scheme was extending Parata St to provide access to Ryman’s retirement village and the school, and the second stage has been the extension of David St into the Ministry of Education’s land and providing infrastructure for the 12 hectare housing development.

The remaining 43 hectares owned by Waikanae North is zoned for further residential development, “including lifestyle blocks, shops, medium-density housing and a commercial centre.”

Although not the massive planned development of the Maypole company, 800 houses is still equal to about one sixth of the total existing houses in Waikanae and will certainly present more strains on the town’s capacity.

The company’s website