Consultation ends on draft unitary plan

The 11-week consultation period for the Auckland Council’s draft unitary plan closes today.

But that does not bring to an end work on developing the new planning rule book set to determine how the city grows over the next 30 years.

Mayor Len Brown has outlined the next steps in the development of the plan.

‘‘In the coming weeks we’ll be crunching through the feedback and sitting down with community stakeholders to work through the changes.

‘‘I’m very clear we need a balanced and planned response to Auckland’s growth, one that maintains and improves our neighbourhoods, while giving families more choices for quality housing.

‘‘The unitary plan won’t be the only determinant of how and where our city grows but it can play an important part in ensuring our response is balanced.’’

The next steps in the development of the draft unitary plan:

The council’s 11-week public engagement on a first draft of the plan concludes today

During June, council officers will summarise community feedback on the plan by theme and locality

During June and July the council will host workshops with local boards and key stakeholders to work through potential changes to the plan, including changes already outlined by the mayor

The final draft plan will be published and formally notified later this year

The council will then enter a formal consultation period expected to be around three years, where Aucklanders will have the opportunity to make formal submissions and suggest further changes.