A long-term shortage of industrial land in and around Hamilton has underscored the need for strong collaboration between the city council and neighbouring authorities, such as Waipā District Council.
A map showing the proposed industrial land developments south of Hamilton into Waipā.
City council Strategic Growth and District Plan committee chair Sarah Thomson highlighted the issue in a report last week. She urged councillors to provide clear direction to city council staff ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
Among the land identified for industrial development by the city council -and included in a Fast Track application to the Ministry for the Environment – is a 35-hectare parcel located in Waipā.
“It’s really important for our local economy that we have affordable industrial land,”
Industrial land prices in the city have surged by 250 per cent over the past decade — compared to a 49 per cent increase in residential property prices.
Sarah Thomson
“That’s a startling number,” Thomson told The News. “It’s why I’m passionate about addressing this issue now.”
In her report Thomson said if the upward trend continued, businesses would be priced out of the city, robbing it and the Waikato region of services and jobs.
The council has supported the SL1 Fast Track application, along with two others: a 66-hectare site bordering the Waikato District and a 140-hectare area in Te Kowhai East.
The current capacity assessment understates future need, she said.
“With the long lead time between identifying future industrial land and actually delivering it, we need to plan ahead and err on the side of caution when it comes to ensuring adequate supply.”
The Waipā industrial land is within 440ha of land stretching from south of Frankton to the south western area of the Peacockes subdivision. It is partially bound by SH3 in the south east, the North Island Main Trunk Line to the north east and the Southern Links designation to the west.
Currently zoned as rural under Waipā’s district plan, the area includes pasture, rural lifestyle properties, equine facilities, and pre-industrial land.
A consortium of developers said in the Fast Track application they felt the SL1 land would be a significant economic enabler and support the Southern Links transport corridor, which has also been fast tracked by the government as a road of national significance.
Rob Dol, project director at Colliers Hamilton, said in the application that the development could help revitalise lower socio-economic areas such as Glenview, Deanwell, Melville, Fitzroy, and Bader.
The entire SL1 growth cell would generate billions of dollars in economic activity, he said. The consortium was also aware of the need to provide affordable housing and was committed to working with Waipā and Hamilton city, he said.
Wayne Allan
“We do need to go into greenfield areas,” Thomson told her committee.
Waipā introduced changes to its district plan in Cambridge last year when it rezoned 75ha north and south of Hautapu Rd from rural to industrial.
Strong growth had created a demand which was not expected for another decade, group manager District Growth and Regulatory Wayne Allan said at the time.
South Waikato District Council, in partnership with the South Waikato Investment Fund Trust and the government, have developed a business park in Tokoroa. The council has also partnered with Waikato Chamber of Commerce to highlight the industrial opportunities available in the district.
