Gobbling up greenfields
Waipā councillors have reluctantly adopted changes to the District Plan which will introduce medium-density residential housing rules across the district.
The plan change adopted on Monday allows for two houses, up to three stories high in Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Kihikihi without a resource consent. Neighbours do not have to be notified either.
Susan O’Regan – “Part of me thinks we’ve got to crack an egg to make an omelette.”
Waipā is a tier one growth council as are Hamilton and Waikato councils.
The council had tried unsuccessfully to lobby Government for a delay to February, but Housing and Environment ministers Chris Bishop and Penny Simmonds turned it down.
Mayor Susan O’Regan said the housing situation nationally was a tough one.
“We can’t keep gobbling up greenfield, it’s as simple as that,” she said. “It has not been an easy journey and nor is it over yet. It just gets murkier and murkier.”
The medium-density changes were mooted under the previous government. Waipā received more than 100 submissions in 2022 and last year held hearings where the majority opposed the move citing loss of peace and quiet and privacy.
Concern was high in Cambridge where submitters said they were worried the “special character” of Cambridge would be ruined.
An independent hearings panel made 16 recommendations covering site coverage definitions, restriction of discretion, stormwater overlay provisions and assessment criteria.
O’Regan said she still did not agree that Waipā should have been lumped in with Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch but she was also aware housing affordability was an issue in the district.
Future of urban design
