When talking about property development in New Zealand, the name “Tim Manning” will undoubtedly come up. The Australasian property maverick is famed for bringing the gated community to New Zealand and giving hundreds of New Zealanders the option for affordable and secure living.
Tim Manning first encountered gated communities in Europe and Canada, where they are particularly popular with retirees. In New Zealand, gated communities have never really been an option. Elderly people wanting to move into a retirement village will occupy their home in that village on a licence to occupy arrangement.
However, in a Tim Manning gated community, each home is on a separate title, giving residents the chance to own their home freehold and sell it on again if they wish. Security features help residents feel safe and independent.
“You make a difference in property by doing something different and being ahead of the others.” Says Tim Manning, “If you go with the pack you’re fighting to get ahead and it doesn’t work. For my whole life I’ve believed if you are like a sheep and follow the crowd you get nowhere. If you go another way you might get it wrong, but if you get it right you win big time.”
And win he did, despite opposition. When Tim Manning approached the North Shore Council about building his first gated community, they were less than enthusiastic. “Some councillors have no planning or vision so it was hard trying to convince them about the scale and density of the project.” Says Tim Manning. “We tried to tell them that what we were doing was the way of the future.” Eventually he convinced them, and his North Shore community, the Grange, exemplifies the success of the project and the need for gated communities in New Zealand.