Hon Dr Nick Smith, Minister for Housing, announces the Government's plan to step into a local planning appeal in order to pave the way for a new $1.2 billion housing project in Three Kings, Auckland.

The lines are drawn in a legal stoush over a very large hole in the ground.

Two camps are going head-to-head in the Environment Court over a plan change and land swap which would see up to 1500 dwellings developed at the former Three Kings Quarry, between the suburbs of Mt Roskill and Royal Oak.

Community consultation on the $1.2 billion redevelopment began in 2008 but has been fraught with friction and dissent.

ALASTAIR LYNN / FAIRFAX NZ Three Kings Community Action Spokesperson Greg McKewon says the Three Kings Quarry could be filled to an acceptable limit in three to four years.

On one side, residents' group Three Kings Community Action has teamed up with the Puketapapa Local Board. On the other sits Fletcher Building, Auckland Council and Environment and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

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* Three Kings residents plan legal action over quarry development

* Three Kings Quarry land swap to go ahead

* Alternative plan for Three Kings Quarry

The hearing began on June 13 and is expected to continue for several weeks.

ALASTAIR LYNN / FAIRFAX NZ Fletcher Building housing chief operating officer Steve Evans says their plan reflects the appropriate design for the area.

Both parties say they want what's best for the community but have failed to meet eye-to-eye.

The Arguments

In late 2015 the Auckland Development Committee approved a land swap required for the development of Fletcher Building's Three Kings Master Plan.

FAIRFAX NZ Three Kings Quarry is now at the centre of an Environment Court dispute.

Plan modification 372 included a land swap between Fletcher's, Auckland Council and the Crown.

In January 2016 Three Kings residents groups lodged an appeal with the Environment Court.

Three Kings Community Action spokesperson Greg McKeown says Auckland Council has failed to act independently.

"They are doing a deal," he says.

"What council didn't do was explore whether there was a better option.

"They have failed to consider alternative rehabilitation and landscape outcomes which also include housing density."

The Puketapapa Local Board hired landscape architecture firm Richard Reid & Associates to develop alternative plans for the quarry.

However, Fletcher Building has convinced Auckland Council its plan is the best option.

Housing chief operating officer Steve Evans says filling the quarry to 15 metres below Mt Eden Rd provides "intensity without taking floor area".

"You couldn't get many better places to provide intensity that doesn't have a negative impact on its surrounding area," he says

"All of a sudden, instead to being limited to three or four stories...now you can start talking about eight or nine stories."

Evans says a further 3 million tonnes of fill is required before construction begins in the quarry.

"This is the second largest piece of brownfields site on the isthmus, it's available to build now, Auckland needs housing now.

"The opposition would suggest that the best thing to do is to fill the quarry up to the top...we were looking at between eight and 10 years longer to fill the quarry," Evans says.

But McKeown says this is misinformed information.

"We've proven that there is actually not a 10 year delay, there could be as little as a three or four year delay."

Local Board vs Government

In February 2016 Environment and Housing Minister Nick Smith voiced his support for "these sorts of plan changes that are needed to address Auckland's growth and housing problems".

"The appeals would adversely affect [Housing New Zealand Corporation's] ability to improve the supply and quality of houses in the adjacent areas," he says.

​"They would reduce the number of new homes by 1000, make them much more expensive and significantly delay the project."

The Puketapapa Local Board thinks otherwise.

The Richard Reid & Associates 2016 initial report on housing yields indicates their proposal potentially provides up to 80 per cent of Fletcher Residential's nominated yield.

"Our initial analysis of the potential housing yield from the [Fletcher Building] site alone also suggests there may be no need for Auckland Council to undertake a land exchange agreement with [Fletcher Building] in order to achieve the significant intensification."

The report suggests about 300 apartments would be built on Auckland Council administered land.

Smith says the quarry will likely remain vacant for another decade if the Environment Court appeal is successful.

"The Three Kings case confirms the need for Resource Management Act reform and the impact it has on Auckland's housing development," Smith says.