Hawke’s Bay Regional Council received the draft Napier-Hastings Future Development Strategy (FDS) today. The council along with Napier City Council and Hastings District Council will put the strategy out for public consultation later this month.

Regional councillors adopted the draft strategy with an amendment proposing that one proposed residential development site in Riverbend Road Napier, be removed from the strategy due to severe flood risk.

HBRC Councillor Martin Williams in supporting the amendment said: “I cannot in good conscience support new housing in an area we know to be subject to severe flooding risks, with all the lessons of Cyclone Gabrielle and the Hawke’s Bay Independent Flood Review clearly saying it’s time for this Council to finally take a firm stand against this type of development.”

The Napier Hastings Future Development Strategy (FDS) is a strategic tool to assist with the integration of planning decisions under the Resource Management Act 1991(RMA) with infrastructure and funding decisions.

It shows where growth will be in Napier and Hastings, in existing and new urban areas over the next 30 years, and the infrastructure needed to support and service that growth.

Hastings District Council and Napier City Council will both consider the draft FDS for public notification at meetings on 19 November.

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