Making Homes Happen

The recommendations from the Independent Hearings Panel on the Auckland Unitary Plan have been released. They have revealed a plan for more widespread, higher-density housing than previously proposed. Legislation requires the council to settle the plan by 19 August. The housing affordability thresholds have not been included in the panel’s recommendations.

The Unitary Plan aims to provide a single set of rules to manage how Auckland’s housing and infrastructure develops over the coming decades. It will also ensure that future growth is balanced with enhancing and protecting the things Aucklanders value most like historic heritage and natural environment.

 

Among the many issues covered, the Panel’s report includes recommendations that the Panel says aim to:

• Focus urban growth on centres, transport nodes and corridors to achieve a quality compact urban form.
• Retain the Rural Urban Boundary but expand it to include 30 per cent more land and enable it to be changed by private plan changes.
• Enable a development pattern to meet demand for the next 30 years and double the feasible enabled residential capacity to exceed 400,000 dwellings.
• Ensure sufficient capacity for the next seven years.
• Enable the growth and development of new or existing rural towns and villages.
• Provide live residential and business zonings for some developments on the edge of existing urban areas.

The full set of recommendation reports and the Panel’s recommended version of the Unitary Plan is available to view at: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/unitaryplan.

Auckland Council will be deciding on these recommendations on August 19.