9/11/2022
Council is looking for input from the community about where it should identify future building areas in the city.
Principal Advisor of Environmental Services and Protection Shane McGhie says “Tairāwhiti has a housing crisis and we are going to need over 5,000 homes by the year 2050. We want to know from the community where we should build these homes, and what type of houses should be allowed “.
Mr. McGhie says the creation of a Future Development Strategy is one of the tools to solve this crisis.
“It is a 30-year strategy that sets out where we can build to enable housing and business growth in Tairāwhiti.”
He says the draft strategy is coming along well.
“Feedback from our early engagement and discussions with iwi and stakeholders has been added to a broad range of data, like accessibility, site visits and infrastructure constraints.
“We’ve collected a large amount of information to develop four possible options where new housing development might be accommodated.
“We want to know which option our community prefers.”
“We’ve also identified that our townships generally have enough land to accommodate growth, and we’d love to discuss with people what type of housing should be permitted.”
Council will be hosting face-to-face meetings through November.
- Gisborne Farmer’s Market: 9:30 - 12pm Saturday 12 November
- Open door sessions GDC Foyer: 12 - 2pm Monday 14, Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 November
- Township Sessions to be advertised shortly.
Mr. McGhie says that any new housing developments will need to include several housing types to address the growing population, including intensification.
“Intensification of urban areas can mean a few things, from small units being added to a property to apartment complexes. For these options we’ve looked at accessibility to services such as public transport, commercial businesses, and social services”, he says.
“The information you give may be something we haven’t thought of and might allow us to identify the pros and cons of options against environmental, social, economic and cultural criteria to help us come up with the best option for Tairāwhiti.”
“The draft options for housing development and growth are shown on our Council webpage - people can vote for their preferred option or provide comment.”
Kōrero mai - let us know what you think about these options.
ENDS