Latest news with #NationalPolicyStatementonUrbanDevelopment
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Frank: Stories from the South, ep. 12 – The fastest growing district in New Zealand
'A lot of our population was born overseas, and that proportion is growing all the time,' says Broughton. Last month, the mayor attended a celebration of citizenship at the Dunsandel Community Centre. 'Over 100 people,' he tells Frank Film. 'All new people in Selwyn, and all new people to New Zealand and they're all becoming citizens.' The appeal of the district, according to Broughton, also lies in its booming agricultural, industrial, manufacturing and construction industries. He points to the new homes being built, the new library and the industrial park currently providing 1200 jobs, many for people commuting from Christchurch. 'This has turned into the place where New Zealanders want to be, where things are happening, where jobs are available,' he says. But population growth has its complications. In 2000, the number of dairy cows in the Selwyn district was 59,900. That number almost tripled in under 25 years, reaching more than 176,000 last year. Selwyn is undergoing rapid transformation and is described as "the place where things are happening". Photo / Frank Film 'I think that the intensification of land use has both positive and adverse effects,' says Broughton, acknowledging the impact of dairying on the district's waterways. Selwyn District Council is currently investing $5 million into finding low-nitrate water sources to supply the district. Selwyn is also home to some of the most productive soil in the country, land Broughton warns is irreplaceable. 'If we lose that to housing, then it's gone,' he says. But that decision no longer comes down to local government. 'We sort of had red lines drawn around our towns about where growth would and wouldn't happen', Broughton says. In July 2024, the Government's National Policy Statement on Urban Development changed the requirements for councils to free up land for housing. 'The Government changed the rules and basically said, 'If you've got land on the edge of an existing town and the infrastructure is there to provide capacity for urban growth, then that urban growth can occur',' he says. Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton says there are job prospects and challenges arising from the district's growth. Photo / Frank Film Other aspects of Selwyn's growth are also in the hands of central Government. 'What's missing in that planning, and local council doesn't have control over it, is where schools go and where new hospitals and GPs are,' he says. Even today, with its burgeoning population, the district still does not have its own hospital. 'Sure, community needs new roads and it needs water supplies, but a great community has also got those other social services that are the central Government's responsibility.' He compares Rolleston to Timaru, which, despite having a smaller population, has four high schools. Rolleston has one. 'We need more classrooms here,' says Broughton. 'There's a second campus being built at the moment, but I think we also need a second school or provision for that.' The population of Selwyn is expected to almost double in 30 years. Photo / Frank Film When it opened seven years ago, Rolleston College had 225 kids. 'Now, we've got just under 1900,' says principal Rachel Skelton. Lincoln University is also growing quickly, receiving a record-breaking 5500 enrolments this year. Broughton was 35 when he was first elected mayor in 2016. Raised on a farm near Darfield, job opportunities then, he says, were 'always elsewhere'. Now, he recognises the university as playing a pivotal role in shaping Selwyn's increasingly diverse population. 'I've seen a massive change in the ethnic make-up of Selwyn. It's really exciting, and I think the centre of that was around Lincoln University, people being attracted internationally to come and study, and then found out how good Selwyn was and decided to stay.' One resident who immigrated from India says living in Selwyn has brought him 'peace of mind'. 'It's such a lovely place, and community, and relaxed environment,' says another resident from Chile. 'The only thing that I can say from my perspective as a foreigner is just that we have to look after what is provided to us, because sometimes we take things for granted here.'
Scoop
23-07-2025
- Automotive
- Scoop
How Smart Traffic Planning Is Unlocking New Zealand's Urban Development Potential
As housing intensification accelerates across New Zealand's major cities, traffic planning has emerged as a critical factor determining which developments succeed in the consent process. The Hidden Gatekeeper of Urban Growth New Zealand's cities are experiencing unprecedented development pressure. Auckland continues to grapple with housing shortages while Wellington and other centres push forward with ambitious intensification plans. In this environment, developers are discovering that transport considerations can make or break their projects. The Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) has evolved from a simple compliance requirement into a strategic development tool that's reshaping how our cities grow. Forward-thinking developers are recognising that engaging with traffic planning early in the design process, rather than as an afterthought, can provide significant advantages. Beyond Compliance: Strategic Transport Planning Modern traffic planning goes far beyond meeting minimum regulatory requirements. The most successful developments integrate transport considerations throughout the design process, identifying opportunities to enhance both project viability and community outcomes. This strategic approach is becoming increasingly important as district councils raise their expectations for development proposals. Councils want to see how new developments will contribute to broader transport and urban planning objectives, not just manage their immediate impacts. The Policy Landscape Driving Change The National Policy Statement on Urban Development, implemented in 2020, is driving intensification around transport corridors and town centres. District councils across New Zealand are updating their plans to accommodate this growth mandate. However, intensification without integrated transport planning can create the kind of urban dysfunction that New Zealand is working to avoid. Traffic Impact Assessments are becoming the critical link between policy ambition and practical implementation. The Multi-Modal Reality Today's traffic planning extends well beyond vehicle movements. With growing focus on sustainability and liveability, modern TIAs consider walking and cycling infrastructure, public transport connections, and emerging transport modes. Contemporary assessments typically evaluate: Pedestrian and cyclist safety and connectivity Public transport accessibility and integration Parking management strategies Travel demand patterns and management Future transport technology considerations Transport planning specialists are at the forefront of this evolution, developing methodologies that account for the full spectrum of transport modes and their interactions in urban environments. Benefits Across the Development Ecosystem Developers benefit from streamlined consent processes, reduced project risks, and more attractive end products. Well-planned transport connections consistently enhance property values and marketability. Councils gain the robust analysis they need to make informed decisions and demonstrate to communities that growth is being managed responsibly. Communities experience safer streets, better connectivity, and neighbourhoods designed around accessibility and liveability rather than just vehicle accommodation. The broader economy benefits from reduced congestion, more efficient urban form, and transport networks that support productivity and economic growth. The Collaborative Approach The most successful projects involve integrated teams where transport engineers, urban designers, and planners collaborate from the earliest stages. This approach identifies solutions that single-discipline assessments might overlook. Strategic design decisions, such as building orientation that naturally encourages pedestrian movement or site layouts that optimise public transport access, can significantly improve transport outcomes while enhancing overall development quality. Technology and Future Trends Advanced modelling and analysis tools are making traffic planning more sophisticated and accurate. Real-time data integration, predictive modelling capabilities, and scenario planning tools help planners understand not just immediate impacts, but how developments will perform as urban environments evolve. Climate considerations are also becoming increasingly important, with assessments now factoring in transport network resilience and the role of developments in supporting emission reduction goals. Strategic Implications for Development Success As New Zealand's urban development landscape becomes more complex, Traffic Impact Assessments are proving to be much more than regulatory requirements. When approached strategically, they become tools for creating competitive advantage and ensuring project success. The integration of transport planning with broader development objectives is creating opportunities for innovative solutions that benefit all stakeholders. Developments that successfully integrate these considerations are setting new standards for urban growth in New Zealand. The Path Forward The projects that will define New Zealand's cities over the coming decade are being shaped by transport planning decisions made today. Success in this environment requires understanding that traffic planning isn't just about managing vehicle movements, it's about creating the sustainable, connected communities that New Zealand's growing urban population requires. As urban development continues to evolve, the most successful projects will be those that recognise transport planning as a fundamental component of good design, not an obstacle to overcome.
Scoop
04-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Marlborough Is Zoned For Growth, Says Mayor In Face Of RMA Reforms
Marlborough's mayor says the council is well on its way to meeting housing growth targets for the next 30 years, even without new Resource Management Act reforms. Housing and Resource Management Act (RMA) reform minister Chris Bishop announced on June 18 that amendments to the RMA to allow central government to override council district plans if they are deemed to constrain economic development. 'Local government has been one of the largest barriers to housing growth in New Zealand,' Bishop said. 'Some council planning departments are basically a law unto themselves.' Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor said she did not believe her council was one that Bishop was speaking to directly, as staff were actively working to meet a growing housing demand. 'We've got the zoning in place for the [next 10 years], and certainly the planning in place for 30 years, and we're actively working to fill the gap.' Council environmental policy manager Pere Hawes agreed, saying the Government was more focused on councils ranked as tier one and two in the National Policy Statement on Urban Development, which were urban centres and high-growth provincial centres. Blenheim was tier three, which covered all other areas. Hawes said the council was focused on expanding urban residential zoning to accommodate the next 30 years of growth, and was working with developers to encourage them to develop the land. 'We have always monitored the supply of land for housing versus the demand for land for housing,' Hawes said. The council's Urban Development Monitoring data was publicly available in an interactive real-time dashboard on the council website, he said. Hawes said the council had zoned enough residential land for at least the next 10 years. The council's 2021 Housing and Business Development Capacity Assessment said the region was still 900 dwellings short of the Government's mandated 30 years of housing growth. But Hawes said there was good news on that front. A block of land named Kerepi, on Blenheim's northern edge, east of Rose Manor, was also rezoned urban residential in February, after consultation and hearings last year. The developer lodged a subdivision consent application in June. 'That provides roughly 160 lots, and that's eating into that 900,' Hawes said. Taylor said she was also looking for opportunities to eat into the housing shortfall. 'I met with a developer last week. 'It's a small development, it's under 100 [houses], but the way you eat into 900 in Marlborough is probably developments of 100 or 200 at a time.' Hawes said the real work lay in encouraging developers to build new homes. 'We can zone land, but we can't make the landowners develop it. 'There's a lack of a lever to initiate the development. 'Maybe that there's an issue that Government will look at as part of the [RMA] reform process.' Bishop planned to introduce new resource consent laws to Parliament, the Natural Environment Act and the Planning Act, at the end of this year.
The Spinoff
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Spinoff
The government is fed up with councils taking the piss on housing
An artist's impression of councils' piss-taking apparatus, and Chris Bishop (; design The Spinoff) They've built aqueducts for the piss. A state-of-the-art municipal pipe network purely for transporting the piss. Chris Bishop started his speech at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday paying tribute to an unlikely list of allies. Labour's Phil Twyford deserved 'great credit' for pushing through the pro-housing National Policy Statement on Urban Development in mid-2020. Wellington City councillor and Green Party candidate Rebecca Matthews had the commitment and tenacity to push for a district plan that 'actually supports and enables growth' over the despairing cries of independent commissioners who spent several thousand words arguing a train is not a train . But when it came time to talk about local government at large, the mood soured. It was 'inarguable, and sometimes uncomfortable' that councils had been one of the largest barriers to housing growth in New Zealand, Bishop said. To say they'd dragged their feet on following government instructions to zone for more apartments and townhouses was 'an understatement'. The minister didn't state it outright, but a sophisticated analysis of his speech by The Spinoff has revealed a clear message: councils have been absolutely taking the piss on housing. The NPS-UD, which called for local governments to allow apartments around rapid transit, was passed in 2020. Its successor, the MDRS, which ordered them to zone for up to three townhouses on almost every residential section, was passed in 2021. Several councils have spent large chunks of the years since drilling boreholes to access reservoirs of the piss. Building aqueducts for the piss. Constructing municipal pipe networks entirely for transporting the piss. Image: Getty Images/Tina Tiller The most elaborate systems have been developed in our two largest cities. Auckland, when faced with instructions to upzone places with good access to the city centre and rapid transit, spent months creating a bespoke, legally adventurous system to prevent any development near the villas with good access to the city centre and rapid transit . Its efforts to enshrine 'special character' areas in amber were so clearly contrary to the spirit of the law that one Labour MP who helped write the MDRS spluttered incredulously over the phone when talking about them, repeating 'it's just something they've made up', and 'I don't know where they've dreamed it up'. After spending all its time checking the 'architectural integrity' of renovated villas rather than looking at actual barriers to development such as flood risk, Auckland Council complained it had been forced to upzone flood-prone areas and asked for an extension on implementing the law. Bishop, presumably after giving a sigh like a tomb door swinging open, granted its request . Even these efforts fall short of the creative piss extraction and transportation technology on display in Christchurch, where in 2022 the council pioneered a novel approach to democracy and political authority by simply voting not to follow the law . It followed that with an attempt to introduce new development restrictions on all residential sites to ensure access to the city's special sunlight. Christchurch residents have proved resistant to other regionally specific lawmaking, such as my proposal to tax Aucklanders at a reduced rate to offset the city's high cost of living. Through all of this, council planners have continued to deny developments for myriad creative reasons , including insulting the memory of trains that didn't exist, compromising motorway drivers' connection to a small hill, or sullying the heritage value of a Mobil station and a carpark. Even several councillors spoken to by The Spinoff conceded their colleagues have been too focused on harvesting water, bodily waste, salt and electrolytes. 'Yes we have taken the piss,' said Christchurch councillor Andreij Moore. His council hadn't acted strategically. '[We] tried to object to intensification everywhere we possibly could and delay as many years as we could.' Auckland councillor Shane Henderson was initially reluctant to make the same admission, but folded after being furnished with some specific examples. 'OK look, they have been taking the piss in some ways, but it's getting better. Attempting to put heritage protections on a gravel pit on K Rd is definitely taking the piss,' he said. He quickly remembered another example. 'OK I'll also contend that putting special character protections on a vast majority of several city-area suburbs is also taking the piss.' Henderson was then reminded about the complicated system his council developed to assess those 'character' areas. 'Yep, taking the piss, I agree,' he said. It's clear that Bishop has had it up to here with all this. 'Yes,' he replied In response to a direct, on the record, yes or no question from The Spinoff on whether councils have been taking the piss on housing. In recent months, he's rejected Christchurch council's proposed special sunlight housing exemption, and asked Auckland Council to please for the love of God finally upzone around the City Rail Link that it and the government have just spent nearly $6 billion on. The Spinoff responded with the thumbs up emoji In his speech on Wednesday, he revealed another new tool in the piss-taking prevention toolbox. If the government deems that councils have been negatively impacting 'economic growth, development capacity, or employment', it will be allowed to override their district plans. It's an extreme measure, and one Bishop said would only be in place until larger Resource Management Act reforms are passed. But if councils are offended, they could stand to look out the window at the vast apparatus they built for extracting, processing and distributing the piss across town centres and suburbs. Now they've been ordered to tear down that industrial-scale operation they've spent years constructing, perhaps we can finally build some houses instead.
1News
18-06-2025
- Business
- 1News
Govt to give itself power to override councils on housing in RMA changes
The Government will take back power from local councils if their decisions are going to negatively impact economic growth, development or employment. In a speech to business leaders at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Housing and RMA reform minister Chris Bishop has announced Cabinet will insert a new regulation power into the Resource Management Act. Before a minister can use the power they would have to investigate the provision in question, check whether it is consistent with the national direction under the RMA, and engage with the council. Bishop expected the power to only be necessary until the new planning system was in place, but said it was necessary when councils used their power to stop growth. Bishop on Wednesday released a discussion document on how proposed housing rule changes would work in with the government's resource management reforms. ADVERTISEMENT The Gordon Wilson Flats are now a step closer to being demolished. (Source: 1News) "Next year we'll replace the RMA with a new planning system that makes it easier to plan and deliver the housing and infrastructure New Zealand needs. "The new planning system is an enormous opportunity to create a planning system that enables and encourages housing growth," Bishop said. The document provided more details on six planned law changes: The establishment of Housing Growth Targets for Tier 1 and 2 councils New rules making it easier for cities to expand outwards at the urban fringe A strengthening of the intensification provisions in the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) New rules requiring councils to enable a greater mixed-use zoning across cities. The abolition of minimum floor area and balcony requirements New provisions making the Medium Density Residential Standards optional for councils. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Auckland's supermarket fire, Trump's threat to Iran, and how a smart watch could make you fitter. (Source: 1News) Last month ministers released proposed sweeping changes to rules covering councils' oversight for public consultation. ADVERTISEMENT Under the proposed Resource Management Act changes, granny flats of up to 70sqm, and papakāinga of up to 10 homes would be allowed without a consent on specific land zones. Papakāinga would also allow commercial activities of up to 100sqm, conservation activity, accommodation for up to eight guests, along with education, health, sports, marae, urupā and māra kai papakāinga of up to 30 homes would be considered a "restricted discretionary" activity, with those of more than 30 units becoming "discretionary" activities.
