23 July 2004

‘Essentially Waiheke’ to be included in District Plan review

Auckland City will be evaluating how successful its actions to implement the principles of ‘Essentially Waiheke’ have been. The research will be undertaken in tandem with the forthcoming review of the Hauraki Gulf islands section of the District Plan.

Under the Resource Management Act all district plans must be reviewed and re-notified every ten years. The Hauraki Gulf islands section is due for re-notification in 2006.

The council’s City Development Committee has endorsed the way forward for the review. While consultation will not begin until next year, research into the effectiveness of key provisions of the District Plan and attaining the objectives of ‘Essentially Waiheke’ will begin immediately.

Councillor Juliet Yates, chairperson of the City Development Committee, says the subjects for review need to be made clear.

“We will not be reviewing the principles of ‘Essentially Waiheke’. Instead, we will be reviewing how successful actions have been in implementing the principles laid down in the document,” she says.

“This will be reported to the City Development Committee, together with draft proposals for the Hauraki Gulf islands plan. When this has been endorsed by the committee it will be publicly notified and the consultation process will start. We anticipate this will be around February 2005.”

‘Essentially Waiheke’ is a strategy to manage development on Waiheke Island over the next 50 years. The strategy is built on a set of five principles: environmental protection economic development and employment strong communities protection and enhancement of Waiheke’s character location.

The District Plan review includes Great Barrier and the rest of the gulf islands.

ENDS

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