The makeover of West Auckland town centre New Lynn was kickstarted on Friday as old buildings were demolished.

A $300 million redevelopment plan is under way that will see it renovated in a way that Waitakere City Council hopes will rival the popular shopping area at Newmarket.

New Lynn’s historic Merchant’s Quarter area will be the heart of the newly done up area and a one kilometre trench has been dug for railway so trains can run in both directions every 10 minutes.

Funding for the redevelopment of New Lynn has been secured which will go towards upgrading the town centre as well as the rail and road.

The West Auckland area aspires to have a town centre like that of Newmarket according to Waitakere City Council's website.

“New Lynn has a future that one day will see it rival places like Newmarket as one of the most prestigious town centres in the Auckland region,” the website said.

An eight storey high development in Te Atatu has been rejected by Waitakere City Council in an effort to keep the peninsula a low-rise development area.

Developers Duopharma Pacific originally proposed a 10-storey building and had hoped this scaled down version would be approved.

Duopharma Pacific directors are Perth-based Bee Ang, James and Tina Cheah and Grey Lynn-based Mee Choong and Thong Yap.

The 23.34m building was to have commercial space on the ground level and seven floors of residential housing.