Auckland Unitary Plan Changes - feedback by 9 May
Auckland Council is asking for feedback on potential changes to the way development could happen across Auckland, including the city centre, as a result of rules set out under the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD).
The NPS-UD directs Auckland Council to enable more building height and density within and around Auckland city centre, metropolitan centres and rapid transit stops such as train and busway stations.
Feedback is being asked for by 9 May, in advance of consultation on a plan change in August.
What’s proposed for the city centre?
For the city centre, proposals include the removal of the general height control meaning buildings could be developed with unlimited heights throughout the city centre (except where special height controls apply) along with Gross Floor Area(GFAs). Proposals also include the extension to the outlook space control to ensure there is enough privacy between buildings and access to both sunlight and daylight.
Elements looking to be retained include special height controls - for example to retain sunlight on places such as Albert Park, the requirement for all new buildings to go through a resource consent process, along with retention of maximum tower dimensions and setbacks from the street. There are also qualifying matters such as retaining rules to maintain character values of pre-1940s buildings within the Queen Street valley
For more information on what is proposed for the city centre click through to the information sheet here.
Information about the additional qualifying matters that relate to the city centre is available here.
Walkable Catchments
The NPS-UD requires Auckland Council to identify walkable catchments around the city centre (and other areas), and enable buildings of at least six storeys within these areas.
A walkable catchment is an area around the city centre within which an average person is likely to walk to reach that location.
Council's preliminary response is based on a 15-minute walk (around 1200 metres) from the edge of the city centre (and around 800m in metropolitan centres). A bigger walkable catchment for the city centre is proposed because it has the greatest number of jobs and the greatest concentration of activities and amenities. Enabling great development of the fringe of the city centre will allow for more people to be living in close proximity to the city centre – including jobs.
Find out more about walkable catchments here.
