They are specific locations that are expected to undergo a significant amount of housing and business growth in the next 30 years. Planning and investment will be targeted and prioritised to these areas where the greatest
development capacity is taken up.
Development areas are not a prediction of where large scale redevelopment will happen, but rather where it is most likely to happen. This gives infrastructure and service providers a basis from which they can do their own long-term planning.
Monitoring of actual, on-the-ground development is crucial. This will inform adjustments to development areas if needed, and subsequent adjustments to the long-term plans of providers.
Each development area will be different and will experience growth at varying rates and at different times. The investment required in these areas will focus on addressing the impacts of increased demand on infrastructure and services as development occurs. This will need a coordinated approach by agencies involved in implementation.
Characteristics of development areas
Development areas have a combination of the following characteristics:
- substantial capacity provided in the Auckland Unitary Plan for housing and business development
- access to a large number of jobs within a reasonable commuting time
- access to
centres and the strategic public transport network within easy walking distance
- major public landholdings with intended or potential redevelopment
- current or planned infrastructure capacity that is likely to enable significant additional growth – for example, the expansion of the strategic transport network that improves connectivity
- market feasibility.
One or more of these characteristics can make an area attractive to market investment. This plays a critical role in determining the likely scale and pace of development.
Some areas in Auckland are currently market attractive and may require investment in infrastructure and services in the short to medium term.
Significant investment in an area can positively influence the market attractiveness, and create a spill-over effect into adjacent areas.
Also, planned future investment, such as new
transport infrastructure, once built, can change an area that is currently not market attractive to one that is. These sorts of factors influence the expected timing, rather than the potential scale, of redevelopment.
Supporting investment will be prioritised for when development occurs.
Once significant growth has happened in an area, it will require further investment in
amenity and community facilities to cater for the greater number of people living there.
Timeframes for development areas
Approximately 18 development areas are identified for targeted investment over the next 30 years. They are prioritised across three broad timeframes that align with the National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity.
The criteria used to sequence development areas included: