Highlights in business activity in the 2020/2021 reporting year
- 595,354 square metres (sqm) of business floor space was consented, which is a 31 per cent increase from the previous reporting year
- the light industry and heavy industry zones had the greatest amount of floor space consented
- of the nodes, the Manukau node had the greatest amount of business floor space consented.
Changes in the make-up and distribution of Auckland’s economy will continue over the medium to long term. To accommodate these changes, the Development Strategy encourages creating flexible and adaptable business areas.
Further information on business areas can be found in the Development Strategy.
Business floor space
Around 31 per cent more business floor space was consented in 2020/2021 than in 2019/2020.
The amount of business space consented has fluctuated significantly over the past five years.
Business floor space (sqm) consented, 1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021
| 2016/2017 | 392,136 |
| 2017/2018 | 692,612 |
| 2018/2019 | 897,679 |
| 2019/2020 | 456,039 |
| 2020/2021 | 595,354 |
| Total | 3,033,820 |
Business floor space consented by Auckland Unitary Plan zone
There were 595,354 square metres (sqm) of business floor space consented in 2020/2021. Most of this was in the light and heavy industrial zones.
Business floor space consented in heavy or light industry zones is generally for land extensive activities such as warehousing and storage, manufacturing, and construction trade services. This contributes to the considerable differences in business floor space consented in these zones compared with other business zones.
Residential and rural zones had the least floor space consented. This is appropriate given the intended activities in these zones.
The concentration of activity within existing industrial zones is consistent with the Development Strategy approach of making the best use of existing business land. Safeguarding critical industrial areas from encroachment by other activities is important as business land is difficult to replace once it is lost to other uses.
Business floor space consented by zone, 1 July 2020 - 30 June 2021
| City centre | 59,639 |
| Metropolitan centre | 28,795 |
| Town centre | 7,082 |
| Mixed use | 5,544 |
| Light industry | 214,836 |
| Heavy industry | 135,332 |
| Other business areas | 42,458 |
| Residential | 5,615 |
| Rural | 11,009 |
| Special Purpose - Airports and airfields Zone | 50,981 |
| Other zones | 34,063 |
Nodes
The Manukau node had the greatest amount of business floor space consented in 2020/2021, accounting for over half of the total business floor space consented in nodes.
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