By Nick Grant – NBR – 13 November 2015:
… One councillor who is demonstrably less enthused about the concept is Cameron Brewer.
He calls yesterday’s decision “an entirely appropriate outcome” due to the proposal having been “an ill conceived fantasy” from the get-go,
“I always saw the precinct being located in the middle of Hobsonville as completely incongruous to that environment,” he says, noting that in July Auckland Council Property had made it clear Auckland Council would be worse off by $24 million in a cash position under the proposal.
“So, financially, it made no sense at all.”
And that’s leaving aside the primary reason against it, that the precinct would limit the number of houses that could be built in the area, he says.
Mr Brewer remains concerned about what he describes as ATEED’s “Think Big film proposition.”
“The worry is now, they’re not giving up, they’re desperate to get out of the Henderson film studio site, so they’re going to be racing around during the next quarter to find another site, possibly in the north-west of Auckland,” he says.
“I’m still unconvinced that Auckland Council getting itself knee deep in the very unpredictable and seasonal nature of film studios is a viable long-term risk that Auckland ratepayers should take.”
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/hobsonville-proposal-dead-auckland-screen-hub-concept-lives-ng-p-181576