Housing fix no help to regions

Palmerston North is warning that Government attempts to get more land released for housing in growth areas could do unintentional damage in the regions.

City planner David Murphy has spoken out against the proposed National Policy Statement on urban development capacity.

His criticism, included in a council submission on the statement, was that a national solution was being imposed on the regions to fix a largely Auckland problem.

He said it was possible the change could force councils to rezone more land than they could afford to service, undermining years of careful planning.

Murphy said the Government’s approach was too simplistic in blaming local councils for not releasing enough land for new housing. In Palmerston North it was not even true.

The city has 60 hectares of residentially zoned land available for development, principally at Whakarongo, enough to satisfy current demand levels for about 15 years.

Murphy said planning for the city’s growth had been based on evidence that had been rigorously examined through the process of hearings and decisions on changes to the District Plan.

The council had played its role to ensure the supply was there, but could not influence how quickly landowners and developers moved to subdivide and market sections.

‘‘The council cannot control who owns the land, and when they release it. The market drives that.’’

The challenge the statement could pose for councils was in the requirement to provide for choices in different locations.

That would come at a considerable cost to councils, he said.

If, for example, urban growth was to occur at both ends of Palmerston North at the same time, that would over-ride planning decisions that had been made, force the council to borrow more money than it intended, and delay spending on other priorities.

‘‘In some ways this is saying land supply and growth in all locations is more important than other things.’’

Murphy said it was encouraging that the Government had recognised the costs to councils of putting in roads and services for new housing areas, with $1 billion being made available interest-free.

But he did not expect any of that money would come to Palmerston North.

‘‘What we have indicated in our submission is that we would be concerned if issues facing Auckland and other growth areas had unintended consequences on planning in places like Palmerston North.’’

The potential risk was that consideration of a private plan change not supported by the council would have to give weight to the national policy statement.

‘‘That could force the council to spend money in those areas earlier than anticipated.

‘‘It may be forced to support a zone change where it does not have the financial headroom to provide the supporting infrastructure.’’

Murphy said that would be at odds with other Government messages to local councils about controlling debt and rates.

The investment could be at the expense of other things, like improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, or the revitalisation of the central city streetscape.

Murphy said the statement went beyond looking at a choice of land available for housing, and also addressed choice for business and retail activity.

If Palmerston North was forced to satisfy demand for choice in the location of shops and offices, that could destroy efforts to retain activity in the central city. He said the focus on land supply was not balanced by the need for quality planning.