Whangārei Mayor: Government’s housing push is ‘logical approach’

Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo says the Government’s new housing push is a “logical approach to addressing housing needs”.

Housing growth in the city looks set to get a big boost under new government plans announced today, 4 July.

These include prohibitions by the Whangārei District Council (WDC) on imposing limits on the extent of urban development in the city.

Housing and Resource Management Act (RMA) Reform Minister Chris Bishop today said the Government’s policies would address the issues that have led to there being no money in the housing market.

“Housing in New Zealand is too expensive because we have made it very difficult for our cities to grow,” Bishop said.

Mr Cocurullo said Whangārei had an urgent housing need and the Government’s plans supported further action in this area.

But he warned the council would need to be realistic about the housing growth, ensuring the city’s sewer, water and stormwater infrastructure can cope.

Whangārei is one of 13 New Zealand cities set to see increased housing development under new government plans, along with Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier-Hastings, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Queenstown, Rotorua and Tauranga.

The government said WDC would have to have housing growth targets as part of the new government push. It would also have to include a 30-year housing growth enabler in its District Plan, using high population growth forecasts.

There are also new rules on how the council will calculate future housing needs.

The Government will impose an injunction if councils fail to comply appropriately.

Mr Cocurullo said Whangārei already had development strategies in place.

The council will soon ask residents for their opinion on a new development strategy for the future.

He added that the council has already been using a higher annual population growth rate forecast of 2.5% to calculate demand since 2019.

There were constraints on urban development around Whangārei.

However, as demand grows, new areas have been identified where residential development could occur, such as Springs Flat north of the city, he added.

The government is also pushing the council to be more accommodating to developers’ requests to change land use to allow homes to be built where they would otherwise be banned.

Cocurullo said the council supported housing development.

The Council has consistently sought to ensure that development funds are allocated to infrastructure and services related to these investments.

Bishop said the new targets for residential growth in New Zealand’s cities would include measures to facilitate both upward and outward expansion.

Government policy will also include more stringent rules on intensification.

The new 30-year housing planning horizon for WDCs contradicts current regulations, which require planning to cover only three years.

The government intends to extend the 30-year time horizon to 50 years.

WDC will no longer be able to set minimum unit sizes for apartments and other residential buildings under the changes. It will also no longer be able to require balconies.

Developers will still be able to choose apartment sizes “in line with buyer demand.”

Simon Crawford, from Whangārei, a representative for Auckland Master Builders Association Northland, welcomed the government’s housing development initiative.

He stated that any such development is positive.

This would make it possible to build more affordable homes, for example in situations where a plot of land that could previously only support one building could now support three residential buildings.

Mr Crawford said it was important for the council to ensure the sewerage infrastructure was adequate to cope with the intensification of development.

He added that over the past 20 years the Whangārei housing estate had mainly consisted of three-bedroom houses on separate lots.

Crawford predicted that the new government’s actions would change this situation.

© Scoop Media