Housingmoving skywards
What do you want Hutt City to look like in the future?
Do you support more intensification and tower blocks?
Those are the questions being asked as the council consults on new legislation requiring councils to allow higher and denser housing construction.
Over the last two years, the face of the city has changed with intensification resulting in large residential sections being sold and replaced with threestorey apartments.
Areas such as Fairfield and Wainuiomata have seen a significant growth in apartments and townhouses on small sections.
Government legislation is likely to see the trend continue, across large sections of the city.
Parliament passed the Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters Amendment Act late last year, enabling housing up to three storeys high in most residential areas.
The changes also require the council to enable housing of at least six storeys in parts of the city that are within walking distance of train stations, the central business area and the Petone commercial area.
Buildings higher than three storeys will also be allowed in residential areas around Avalon, Eastbourne, Moera, Stokes Valley and Wainuiomata suburban commercial centres.
The council opposed the legislation, arguing that taking a blanket approach to intensification – without considering access to transport hubs, offstreet parking, and basic amenities – would have severe unintended consequences.
This legislation also forces a change to the council’s ongoing work on the District Plan review that was already under way.
To ensure residents have their say, the council voted to prioritise changes to the District Plan to include the new Government requirements.
As a result, the rest of the District Plan will be reviewed more slowly than previously planned.
Councillor Simon Edwards, chairman of the District Plan Review Subcommittee, is encouraging the public to have their say.
‘‘We’re keen to hear how our District Plan can deliver the best possible outcomes for our communities and environment while also ensuring we comply with our legislative requirements aimed at accelerating the supply of new housing,’’ Edwards said.
He said the council’s Plan Change 43 agreed in 2019 had resulted in a surge of infill housing to meet the growing need for housing.
The number of dwelling consents has doubled – from 550 in 2020 to 1142 in 2021 – and further growth is expected.
‘‘It’s frustrating that Government has imposed a one-sizefits-all mandate on all councils of our size, even though we have already made great strides in increasing housing density in areas that can support it,’’ Edwards said.
Public consultation on the changes will open in late March and run until the end of April.
The full review of the rest of the District Plan will continue following completion of the intensification plan change.