No slow down in Waipā growth
Waipā District Council is continuing to field constant enquiries about new homes and businesses planned for the district.
From July–September 2020, Council staff processed 51 subdivision consents – up from 38 in the previous quarter. In total, 72 land use consents were processed, up from 55 in the previous three months. Formal applications, pre-application meetings and enquiries remain at far higher levels than prior to lockdown in March and April and show no sign of abating.
Group manager district growth and regulatory services, Wayne Allan, said since lockdown lifted there had been 491 commercial or residential building consents lodged with Council with a total value of around $117 million. Major commercial consents issued include a new office and workshop at Titanium Park, a new commercial plastic moulding warehouse and office in Raynes Road and 10 industrial units planned for Hautapu Road.
“In terms of housing, 106 new house applications were lodged in the last quarter with just under half of these going into Cambridge. There is only about 34 hectares of land in Cambridge north yet to be developed and St Kilda is close to full,” he said.
Master plans have been completed and design work is nearly complete for infrastructure to support the western growth cells (C1, C2 and C3). Further structure planning has been completed for the Lamb Street residential growth cell (C4) while a large-lot growth cell (C6) in Leamington South is already 20 per cent developed.
“Other Cambridge growth cells have also been identified, but master planning for infrastructure has not yet begun so in terms of growth, there is an awful lot happening in Cambridge. However, there is sustained growth right across the district – it’s not just confined to Cambridge.”
Allan said two growth cells at Karapiro were also on the books, one around 40 per cent developed and the other earmarked for development post-2035. Large-lot residential development has begun in one of three growth cells at Ngahinapouri.
In Ohaupo, one large-lot residential growth cell is 85 per cent developed and three others are identified for development post-2035. Long-term growth cells are also marked in Pukeatua and in Rukuhia.
“There are 15 growth cells already identified in Te Awamutu, some already under development, some marked for development after 2035 or in other cases, earlier,” Allan said. “Pirongia is a bit different. There is no staging of growth areas within Pirongia as all growth is within current town boundaries.”
Initial indications are that growth supply and demand is tracking at or slightly ahead of the Wapa 2050 Growth Strategy, Allen said.
“Given Covid-19 and the predicted economic downturn, it is difficult to predict if this level of growth will continue into 2021. However, Waipā, like all councils, is obliged by the government to provide new urban residential areas to try and deal with New Zealand’s housing shortage.”
“Our district is well placed to meet the government’s requirements, which is great. Our challenge is funding the infrastructure to support that growth. Work is being done as part of our Long Term Plan to identify what will be loan-funded, alongside the financial contribution to growth that will be required by developers.”
