19 May 2017

Media Release

Mayor and Minister Sign New Housing Accord

Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne has signed an updated Housing Accord with Building and Construction Minister Nick Smith, signalling a continued commitment to facilitating housing development in Tasman District.

The accord sets new annual targets for the Tasman District Council for consenting new residential dwellings and gives the Council the ability to recommend the establishment of Special Housing Areas to the minister.

The new targets will mean the Council working to provide 1100 new houses over the next three years.

Mayor Kempthorne said the accord sets out the Council’s commitment to supporting an adequate supply of land and ahealthy mix of residential living options for housing.

The accord also recognises the infrastructure servicing challenges facing the Council in freeing up new areas of land for residential development, Mayor Kempthorne said.

“Fast-tracking infrastructure to cater for additional housing would be a challenge for us given our focus on reducing debt and keeping spending in check, and the accord recognises this limitation.”

The mayor said the accord also gives the Council the ability to develop a policy for considering requests for Special Housing Areas (SHAs).

“It’s useful to have the ability to streamline consenting processes to enable good-quality, appropriate development in the most suitable areas.

“We’ve received a strong indication from several developers that they wish to use the SHA process in the near future. Having an accord retains local oversight in the decision-making process, which is important to our communities.

ENDS

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