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A new central government report’s proposals provide practical ways to help Auckland grow, even if heritage protections could be at risk, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown confirms.
“I welcome the government’s moves to unlock more housing capacity in Auckland’s city centre, get rid of heritage protections from non-heritage buildings on Karangahape Road and remove seismic constraints. Now I look forward to the government tackling other planning controls in the future, such as fire rules,” he says.
“We have invested billions of dollars in the City Rail Link (CRL) and in the roads, pipes and other infrastructure that supports the central city. Our planning rules should help us get the best possible return from that investment.
“Our job now is not just to enable capacity, but to actually ensure things get built so we can make the most of CRL and grow the city centre into a place more Aucklanders choose to visit, live and work in.”
Simon Watts, Minister for Auckland, agrees with proposals to remove heritage sites.
“The report recommends removing non-contributing sites from the Karangahape Road Historic Heritage Area. These are sites within the heritage area that do not themselves make a significant contribution to its recognised heritage values, often because they have already been substantially altered or redeveloped,” he says.
“This would create greater opportunities for redevelopment on sites with limited heritage value, while continuing to protect the buildings and places that give Karangahape Road its distinctive character.”
The proposals, intended to unlock significantly more housing, jobs and economic activity in Auckland’s city centre, are being put forward for public consultation, building on the opening of the CRL, Minister for Resource Management Reform Chris Bishop confirms.
“The City Rail Link has transformed the way Aucklanders can get into and around the central city. The next step is making sure our planning rules support Auckland to take full advantage of that investment, by allowing more people and businesses to locate close to world-class transport infrastructure,” he says.
“There is enormous potential for [Auckland] to grow further. Earlier this year, we launched an investigation into whether Auckland’s city centre planning rules were holding that growth back, and that work is now complete.
“The report recommends removing several planning restrictions that constrain how the city centre can develop, including height limits, tower dimension and setback rules and floor area ratios.”
Auckland is an “economic powerhouse” accounting for approximately eight per cent of New Zealand’s GDP and almost six per cent of the country’s jobs, Bishop says.
Economic modelling indicates the city could support approximately 2.75 million square metres of commercial space, 17,000 additional dwellings, 37,200 jobs and 31,600 residents.
“Changes could be made under the new regulation-making power in the Resource Management Act, passed into law last year through the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill.
“This power was first used last year after an investigation found planning rules were unnecessarily limiting Eden Park’s ability to host major events and deliver jobs and economic growth for Auckland and the rest of the country. This resulted in plan changes enabling more events at New Zealand’s national stadium.”
Public consultation on the proposed changes will run from today (September 18) until October 16.
“We want Aucklanders, particularly people who live and do business in the city centre, to have their say,” Mr Bishop adds.
“Following consultation, we will consider the feedback alongside the investigation findings and Auckland Council’s views before deciding whether changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan should proceed.”
