Signing heralds new local and central government partnership

The signing of an agreement today by iwi, local and central government agencies heralds the beginning of a new partnership to ensure joined-up planning between Auckland and Waikato.

Future Proof was first established in 2009 to focus on growth management in the sub-region of Hamilton, Waipā, Waikato and Matamata-Piako districts.

It comprises Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton City Council, Waipa and Waikato district councils and tangata whenua, with support from the New Zealand Transport Agency and Waikato District Health Board.

From today, the membership has been expanded to oversee the implementation of a number of Hamilton-Auckland corridor projects. It will now include central government, the Auckland Council as an associate member and tangata whenua representation from Auckland iwi.

“There’s nowhere else in New Zealand quite like this corridor. The location of a number of communities along two parallel road and rail networks, as well as the country’s longest river, makes it unique,” said Future Proof Implementation Committee (FPIC) independent chair Bill Wasley.

“That’s why managing development between New Zealand’s two fastest growing metropolitan areas, Auckland and Hamilton, requires innovative and joined-up thinking,” he said.

The Hamilton-Auckland Corridor Plan is about creating communities current and future residents want to live in.

The plan recognises that people’s preferred transport, social, cultural and economic connections are not defined by territorial authority boundaries.

It provides a framework for development to help manage growth in a way that provides access to the services people need, while protecting and enhancing the corridor’s natural and cultural assets.

The key initiatives developed through this partnership will be a ‘step-change’. While some projects are already underway, managing growth along the corridor will be a 100-year journey.

Visit futureproof.org.nz to find out more.

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