Growth – Is growth sustainable?

The Mahurangi Community Planning Group (MCPG) was formed to express your concerns about the form and timing of proposed growth and what is likely to eventuate, under current government directions. It is becoming clear that the community is unhappy with the possible future for the town and district, and the lack of matching public with private infrastructure investment.

MCPG has made comprehensive submissions to government on the Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms, which highlight these concerns. These focussed on:
1 the need for better consideration of local views
2 the need for local community organisations (such as MCPG) to be formally recognised, as Māori are, as contributors to planning and resource decisions in the new Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill
3 the need for the new spatial plans (which it does support) to be prepared at both local and regional levels to ensure they reflect issues of importance to communities
4 ensuring full integration of environmental, land use and infrastructure planning and decision making, both public and private, and how that will be funded, to allow informed decision-making
5 the need for shared responsibility for managing change by central and local governments, communities and individuals
6 the need to strengthen forward planning capabilities in local authorities along with using local expertise.

In its initial submissions to Auckland Council’s Change 120, MCPG highlighted the need to ensure the type and form of new development for the Warkworth urban (and future urban) areas was appropriate for the environment and infrastructural capacity. There are proposals for increased densities within the Warkworth district that are not needed, and the community does not support. Further submissions will be made in the near future.

MCPG has highlighted in the past that the costs of growth have to be more equitably shared between both central and local government, and the developers. At present, the costs of additional infrastructure and facilities are primarily paid for by local and central government and, ultimately, the community with limited contributions by the developers.

Currently, Council charges development contributions of $20,000 in Rodney. These funds don’t come back to Rodney, but even if they did they are woefully inadequate to meet the costs of providing new roads, town centre parking, services, community, health and recreation facilities, and schools funded by the authorities. If we are going to get significant growth in Warkworth centre and surroundings areas, this development contribution should be increased to be closer to around $200,000 per new house for Council infrastructure alone. Central Government spending is on top of that. That is the true cost of growth – growth must pay for growth.

MCPG presented this to both Council and Local Board in submissions to Council’s Annual Plan and the Rodney Local Planning Strategy. The true cost of planned growth is confronting, but needs to be more widely understood.