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New Lynn Town Centre - Waitakere City

Fast facts

Location: New Lynn, Waitakere City, Auckland

Commenced: 1996, build-out ongoing

Organiser: Waitakere City Council

Participants: Community, AMP (LynnMall City), other developers and property owners, RSA, Auckland City Council, public sector agencies, public transport providers

Case study researcher: Megan Howell, Waitakere City Council

Key statistics

314 ha in a 1 km radius from the New Lynn Railway Station.
Includes 23 hectares of retail land area, 483 retail and service businesses, and 1179 households.
Worker/resident ratio of 29 people per ha.
Residential density has increased from 3.9 occupied dwellings per ha in 1996 to 5.2 dwellings per ha in 2001.

Photo:

Concept plan integrating mixed use, residential, retail, parks, stormwater, public transport and pedestrian connections as part of an Eco-City vision.

Photo:

New Lynn Community Centre. Local activities within a funky modernist building that integrates art and stormwater design.

Photo: Medium density housing sited around Ambrico Reserve.

Photo: Beauty and function combined to cut the walk time for residents - (Creative NZ Creative Places Award).

Introduction

New Lynn is one of Waitakere City's three urban centres - a vibrant commercial area that attracts people from throughout the region. It is a gateway and a hub for transport activities since pre-European times. More recently, it is one of the busiest stations on Tranzmetro's western rail line and a major interchange for bus services. Several road links make New Lynn a hub for traffic from the south, west and central parts of Auckland.

Traditional clay and brickworks were clustered south of the railway line, but most of the sites have been abandoned and manufacturing has ceased. The town centre, to the north of the rail line, has spread out along Great North Road, and is notable mainly for LynnMall, New Zealand's first enclosed shopping mall.

Waitakere City Council recognised New Lynn's potential for innovative development as part of the City's commitment to sustainable development and quality urban design. Since initiating the town centre's revitalisation in 1995, more than $200 million of private and public capital has been invested in New Lynn.

Design process

The design process for New Lynn began in 1996 with a community charette. Over 700 residents contributed to the five-day design workshop, sharing their ideas and priorities with a team that included urban designers, traffic engineers, planners and ecologists. The design process addressed social, economic and environmental elements of revitalisation, for example improving community facilities, developing business and retail opportunities and restoring the ecology of the area.

The charette produced comprehensive drawings which detailed a structure for the New Lynn centre and surrounding neighbourhoods, looking at both public and private land and their interfaces. Inspired by the shared vision that emerged, both the Council and private developers have contributed to the revitalisation of New Lynn's town centre, undertaking numerous projects including:

reflecting the charette outcomes in the District Plan
construction of a new community centre
refurbishment of Gardiner Reserve and Ambrico Kiln and Reserve
creation of Memorial Drive and the new war memorial
LynnMall City expansion and opening to face Memorial Drive (value $64 million)
relocation of the RSA to larger and improved premises
construction of the Rewarewa Footbridge
medium-density housing developments in Caspian Close, Ambrico Place and the Crown Lynn Condominiums, building over 400 new housing units at a value of over $87 million
stream restoration and creation of Manawa wetland.

Projects still to be realised include:

new rail/bus interchange to co-ordinate with the rail double-tracking project
extension of Memorial Drive across the rail line to Clark Street
proposed new library and Memorial Square.

Urban design issues

The key urban design issues included:

realising Council's Urban Villages Strategy by encouraging people to live, work and have recreational opportunities within walking distance of town centres
creating a vibrant, safe and accessible town centre with community facilities complementing the business sector
connecting a fragmented community, physically divided by rail, roads and streams
developing transport strategies for the area, including provision for interchange between bus, train, car and walking
providing a diverse range of housing
renewing community facilities, particularly a new library and community centre, and re-creating Memorial Square as a focal point of activity
protecting ecological habitats and heritage buildings
maintaining industrial strength and improving New Lynn's attractiveness as a place to work and do business
addressing physical constraints such as flood plains.

Evaluation - urban design principles

Context	The design vision for New Lynn sought to reinforce its role as one of Waitakere's three urban centres, both as a gateway and as a major transport hub in the west of Auckland, one of the busiest stations on Tranzmetro's western rail line. An area defined by an 800 m radius from the town centre was identified for revitalisation. Developers have responded positively to the design vision by the creation of medium-intensity housing within this area. However, less has been achieved in terms of retail intensification and this is a focus of future work.
Character	A straightforward and legible street connection to the rail and bus interchange (replacing a maze of one-way lanes) was created with the mall complex facing out into it. There is a continuing challenge with the Clark Street/Totara Avenue roundabout and integrating the two sides of the railway line. New Lynn's past as the centre of the brick and ceramic industry in Auckland has been celebrated through art, building design and community projects.
Choice	The revitalisation of New Lynn focuses on a mix of uses and users. Both civic and commercial properties have been upgraded. The Post Office, LynnMall, and McDonalds have all worked with the Council and re-developed to fit with and take advantage of the overall concept. It is still difficult to achieve mixed use on a single development site, but possible changes to the District Plan (including the removal of car parking requirements for apartments) may make this easier.
Connections	Good local connectivity is a key component lacking in New Lynn. Better connections have been made with the Rewarewa footbridge (northwest part of New Lynn to the town centre), the Veronica / Ward Street rail crossing and Memorial Drive (connecting Great North Road and Totara Avenue). Further projects to improve the connections across the rail line await the double-tracking project.
Creativity	The overall design seeks to retro-fit an existing centre and turn the existing shopping mall 'inside-out' to engage the street. The vision for medium-density housing preceded market perceptions, but the strength of the overall design vision coupled with the active involvement of the Council resulted in a change for the suburb.
Custodianship	Revitalisation was required to conform to the City's commitment to sustainable development. There are a number of features that promote the Eco-City vision. Manawa Wetland has been developed as a stormwater quality treatment facility, flood mitigation area and park with high amenity and ecological values. Local community groups and businesses have been involved in restoration of parts of the Rewarewa Creek. The New Lynn Community Centre has been developed as a model sustainable building. The New Lynn Library (due to start construction) has been designed following principles of sustainable development.
Collaboration	The design process began with a community charette in 1996. This attracted a lot of attention, with over 700 residents contributing to a five-day design workshop. As a direct consequence of the charette, a detailed structure emerged for the New Lynn centre and surrounding neighbourhoods. The charette considered an area within an 800 m radius of the New Lynn Railway Station, to encourage development of medium-density housing within reasonable walking distance of public transport.

Lessons learnt

The initial charette in 1996 was a highly successful catalyst to development. It clearly defined the community's vision for New Lynn and communicated the range of possibilities to developers who had previously been sceptical of the potential for intensification in Waitakere, and uncertain of the future for the old brickworks areas.

The scale of the project and the number of parties involved has made for a long and often complex design process. Working with an existing fragmented urban fabric has generated challenges from the shape and location of available (rather than ideal) sites. Not wanting to discourage redevelopment, the Council has issued consents (particularly in the first years) for the redevelopment of sites that should probably have been amalgamated or re-oriented.

Charettes, design workshops, annual plan submissions and community consultation drop-ins have all received wide input from different parts of the public sector: Waitakere City Council staff from across the organisation including planners, engineers, economists, ecologists, community advisors; Auckland Regional Council and Auckland City Council staff; and bus and rail representatives. Organised community groups such as the RSA, local business people and major landowners such as AMP have all been closely involved. However, there is no formal process to ensure that all parties are kept up-to-date with the evolution of the vision over time.

A further challenge has been bringing the community along at every stage of the project. The designs offered immediately obvious benefits, but some aspects of intensification were less comfortable for the existing community. This points to a need to ensure that the positively perceived developments such as street improvements and community facilities keep pace with the more radical changes to the urban character, such as the development of medium-density housing. There is also a need to monitor and communicate the changes to the community. Studies show for instance that the profile of the new residents does not fit the 'ghetto/slum' stereotype that some of the older residents were assuming.

Experience has highlighted the need for better sequencing of projects and more direction in the District Plan to ensure comprehensive integration.

Value gained

The value gained from the redevelopment of New Lynn includes:

defined and communicated an exciting, comprehensive vision for revitalising New Lynn
catalysed public and private development consistent with that vision
reawakened the community identity of New Lynn
diversified the housing stock, with a 50:50 split of traditional households and medium-density housing
intensified residential densities from 3.9 occupied dwellings per ha within a 1 km radius of the centre in 1996 to 5.2 dwellings per ha in 2001
encouraged better quality built development, with LynnMall opening out and relating better to the rest of the town centre
private investment of new development (excluding refurbishment) following the New Lynn charette - $49.15 million from 1997-2001.

Comments

Despite community uncertainty about the impact of intensification, a study of Ambrico Place has found the majority of residents are satisfied with their home, neighbourhood and the surrounding town centre. Residents possess higher than average levels of tertiary qualifications and personal income levels. They chose to live in medium-density housing for its safety and security, low maintenance sections and proximity to shops and transport, and they have comparatively lower rates of car ownership.

Individual elements of the town centre revitalisation have been recognised with national design, architecture and sustainability awards, including an Auckland Regional Council Environment Gold Award for the Manawa Wetland, a Creative New Zealand Creative Places award for the Rewarewa Footbridge, and a New Zealand Institute of Architects Community and Cultural Award for the New Lynn Community Centre.

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