Tuesday, 9 August 2016

Property Institute welcomes Unitary Plan revisions

Property Institute of New Zealand Chief Executive, Ashley Church, has welcomed proposed changes to the recently released draft Unitary Plan saying that the recommended amendments will address the worst excesses of the proposed Plan and transform it into a world-class plan for Auckland.

"The revisions being suggested are a massive step forward. They acknowledge the need for the city to grow up and out as quickly as possible - while still protecting those things which make Auckland the world's 3rd most livable city".

Mr Church had previously applauded many aspects of the widely anticipated document - but had led a concerted media campaign against several recommendations which would have degraded the quality of life and standard of construction in the city. These included the proposed removal of the requirement for minimum apartment sizes allowing for the construction of what he called 'shoebox' apartments, recommendations to delete building demolition controls for pre-1944 houses, and recommendations to delete the Schedule of sites of value to Mana Whenua - which Mr Church referred to as 'unnecessary acts of cultural vandalism'.

However, yesterday, Council officers released a number of proposed revisions to the latest draft of the Unitary Plan - most of which reject aspects of the Unitary plan in favour of minimum protections. They include rejection of the recommendation to abolish a rule requiring owners to seek iwi approval for work on their land, rejection of the recommendation to abolish minimum-size apartments, and a rejection of the proposal to delete pre-1940 demolition controls in the Queen St valley precinct.

Mr Church says that the proposed amendments will make a big difference, if adopted.

"While it would have been nice to have seen a recommendation for the retention of all pre-1940 controls it's good to see that Council Officers have taken a pragmatic approach to the preservation of the most valuable aspects of our culture and heritage. I strongly encourage Councillors to adopt the Plan with the Officer amendments".

However, Mr Church says that he is disappointed with the Officer recommendation to reject the loosening up of land for rural subdivisions.

"This is one of many areas where the independent Panel got it right. Freeing up land is the quickest way to start slowing down the rate at which house prices increase - and the artificial constraints successive Councils have placed on rural land haven't worked. That needs to be addressed urgently, not resisted".

Mr Church says that Aucklanders have a right to expect that the plan setting out the growth of their city should be underpinned by a strong commitment to quality, livability and respect for the past.

"If it doesn't achieve those things - what's the point?"

Ends

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