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North-west planning manager Warren McLennan says it’s unlikely that the Warkworth Structure Plan process will start any earlier than late next year, as forecast in the Future Urban Land Supply Strategy.
He says structure plans are essentially focused on land identified as Future Urban in the Unitary Plan. In the case of Warkworth, this amounts to more than 1200-hectares to the north, south and west of the town centre.
Structure planning and plan changes to ‘live’ zonings are part of the process of making these areas ready for development.
One of the first areas in Auckland to complete a structure plan, guided by the new Unitary Plan, is Whenuapai. Its plan was released in September after a nine-month process. Mr McLennan said he didn’t know how much it cost, but it would be in the order of “hundred of thousands” of dollars.
The 120-page document included 19 technical reports, as well as significant input from the community, key stakeholders, Council and Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) such as Auckland Transport and Watercare.
“Perhaps a useful exercise for Warkworth would be to do something like a Centre Plan, similar to Milford or Takapuna.”
A Centre Plan works within existing zonings to identify community aspirations in terms of character, accessibility, social infrastructure and business sustainability. It would dovetail with connections to Future Urban sites and Council has assisted communities to prepare these plans in the past.
“While a structure plan clearly has to look at connections to existing land uses, Warkworth’s town centre, for instance, would not be part of a Warkworth Structure Plan,” Mr McLennan says.
“We possibly need to sit down with the Local Board and the people who see a need for a structure plan to understand what they are seeking to achieve.”
Snapshot of growth
The total area of land in Warkworth zoned Future Urban in the Auckland Unitary Plan: 1255ha
