Affordable housing is a big problem in New Zealand and we’d like to be part of the solution.
This doesn’t mean the South Hill will look like the Gold Coast overnight.
But we can’t ignore this problem in favour of the status quo. Should we plan to build smarter on the land that we have, or continue spreading out forever? Tell us what you think.
Oamaru living space - finding more homes for people
5 key facts on the National Policy Statement on Urban Development and how this relates to the Spatial Plan.
- Central Government’s National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) came into effect on 20 August 2020.
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The NPS-UD requires councils to plan for growth and ensure the delivery of a ‘well-functioning urban environment’ for all people, communities and future generations – this means ensuring that people can live close to jobs, community services, public transport, and other amenities.
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The NPS-UD directs all applicable councils, including Ōamaru as a Tier 3 urban environment, to enable more housing that meets the diverse needs of the community by allowing new development both up and out. It is important to note that the NPS-UD only directs that intensification be ENABLED not REQUIRED. Just because it may remove the barriers to higher density housing this doesn’t mean that it will necessary happen.
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In the context of Ōamaru, intensification must be provided for in accordance with the level of accessibility or demand. The Council has completed an initial assessment and identified the areas where intensification could occur. Council will undertake a further accessibility and demand assessment to inform intensification locations as required under the NPS-UD. The areas shown in the Spatial Plan are an indication of those areas where further assessments will be undertaken to determine if they are suitable.
- The policy direction from the NPS-UD tells us which areas must be enabled for intensification and include those that:
- are in or around the town centre, or any other area that provides employment opportunities; and
- areas with high accessibility by active or public transport; and
- areas with high demand – guidance in the NPS-UD tells us that this includes areas around the town centre, near schools, areas close to open space or areas with good outlooks/views.
So, there's no need to panic about this, but we DO need to start thinking about how a larger population could be accommodated. Check out the draft plan, we'd love your feedback.