Consultation
on Auckland Council’s Draft Unitary Plan closes at the end of the month. This
is your chance to give feedback on the rulebook that will shape development in
Auckland over the next 30 years. In the city centre, the challenges of
growth will be especially important and exciting, as the CBD will experience
major changes in our economy, the shape of our transport network, and the
building development needed to meet the demands of the projected growth.
While the
population of the Auckland region as a whole is expected to grow to 2.5
million, some of the most dramatic impacts of that growth will be felt in
Auckland’s CBD. There will be no other city centre in New Zealand that will
experience such an intense focus on economic growth and development. The city
centre will play a pivotal role in Auckland’s economic success, as a hub for
employment, business and financial services.
While much
of the debate in the media has been about intensification faced by Auckland
suburbs and smaller metropolitan centres, many Heart of the City members will
be interested in submitting on the outcomes which the Unitary Plan will propose
for the CBD.
The Unitary
Plan aims to deliver the Auckland Plan’s strategic direction of delivering a
stunning city centre, in line with the promised transformational goals of the
City Centre Masterplan and the Waterfront MasterPlan. The Draft Unitary Plan
will give shape to the way in which a quality, compact city centre will be
achieved. There are many aspects of the Plan that will control the
future of the city centre, but some of the key sections of the Draft that
are likely to be of interest to our members include the development rules
covering commercial intensification in the city centre, and the City
Centre precincts which include special provision for these city areas:
Britomart, Cook St Depot, the Learning Quarter, the Port, Quay Park, the Queen
St Valley, Victoria Park Market, the Viaduct and Central wharves, Westhaven and
Wynyard Quarter. A tool for understanding the rules of the Unitary Plan, and
for ensuring quality development in the CBD, will be Council’s Auckland
Design Manual, which will provide guidelines for commercial retail and
industrial design as well as residential - although the ADM is still in
the process of being developed.
Building a
resilient transport network that feeds into a compact urban centre is one of
the most important challenges for the city centre. HOTC members
will be aware of the discussion around how to achieve this by implementing
improved public transport networks, including improved bus access to the CBD,
the proposed construction of the City Rail Link, and other initiatives to
improve our choice of transport access and reduce congestion. Another key issue
for enabling city centre growth is implementing reforms of city car parking,
and the Draft Unitary Plan gives special attention to parking reform, with
parking maximums rather than minimums becoming the rule for development in the
CBD. We can expect the parking reforms already begun in the city centre
will continue.
Feedback
to Council will be considered in the development of the Auckland Unitary Plan,
which Council expects to be notified later this year.On
notification, the public will have the right to make submissions and be heard
by a hearings panel.
The opportunity to feed
your views into the process of shaping the Auckland Unitary Plan finishes on 31
May, so visit http://shapeauckland.co.nz/
to have your say and fill out the feedback form.
