The view of Mt Eden for drivers coming across the Auckland Harbour bridge is costing the city more than $1 billion in lost revenue.
A new study by Geoff Cooper of Pricewaterhouse Cooper and Kabira Namit of the World Bank was released on Sunday, and analyses what are referred to as viewshafts - planning tools used to protect people's views of volcanic cones by constraining the height of buildings.
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One viewshaft allows commuters driving across the Auckland Harbour Bridge to see Mt Eden, but that is costing the city over $1.4 billion.
That single restriction is limiting the development of infrastructure and homes on approximately 1.7 million square metres of land.
To offset the cost, each car crossing the bridge would need to pay nearly $15,000.
According to the research, more than half of all private land in the Auckland CBD is limited by three viewshafts. There are 79 viewshafts in total across Auckland, protecting 11 volcanic cones.
Mr Cooper said it was time Auckland had an honest conversation about the value put on iconic views, and how that may be impacting the construction of affordable housing.
"Planning policies which constrain New Zealand's most productive employment area should carry national significance and be subject to robust scrutiny," he said.
By rotating the viewshaft by 4.5 degrees, motorists would be able to still see the mountain, but it would reduce the cost to the city by roughly 40 percent.
"Optimising our viewshaft framework could improve the competitiveness of Auckland, help address affordability and ensure the protection of our treasured volcanic cones," said Mr Cooper.
Newshub.
