Growth – Membership drive

Development around Warkworth is currently being driven by developers through a series of Private Plan Changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan. With or without plan changes, these suburban housing projects are occurring with minimal or inadequate public infrastructure. In particular, water infrastructure investment is lagging behind demand, as is roading capacity, and community and recreation facilities.

So what can ratepayers do?

The Mahurangi Community Planning Group (MCPG) is a forum that works with all parties – Auckland Council, developers, landowners, business organisations, iwi and other community groups – to ensure that growth is properly managed. We are working with the Rodney Local Board, who understands the need for proper plans to guide decision-making, and are helping us navigate the complicated and, at times, uncoordinated parts of council responsible for planning and allocation decisions.

As an incorporated society, MCPG has the structure and accountability to do what council can’t – utilise the professional resources and talent available locally from people who care about their community; see Warkworth grow and develop in a way that maintains our quality of life; and utilise skills to plan for how that can happen. If necessary, and we hope it doesn’t come to this, we can take legal action against council if its decisions do not align with what all local parties want.

We are starting with the Town Centre as a pilot – initially for Mahurangi, and then for the whole district – and have already engaged landowners around the Warkworth Bowls site, in Mill Lane, to explore options for what the town needs most – more parking, better pedestrian connections, and further hotel accommodation to retain visitors.

We’re inviting residents and ratepayers to join us and contribute to the vision and its implementation.

We have professionals, architects, engineers, planners, economists and developers to help with analysis and design. It’s your community and you have a stake in how it develops.

In addition to soliciting funding from interested developers and other sponsors, we are also asking council for funding as this ties in with and supports their community engagement and localism initiatives. Even with our professionals generously giving their time, we will need to pay for some professional services and administration (to engage you) to do this work properly.

We will shortly be advertising a public meeting to bring everyone up-to-date with what is happening and explain how MCPG will work for you.

Council’s structure and staff are not up to the development planning challenges we’re facing. Only the full engagement of our communities can make them work for us, not the other way around. Join MCPG now and help us make it happen.

If you have professional skills and are unhappy at how Rodney is developing, and want to contribute in our design team in the development planning activity, let us know by contacting secretary Hugh Briggs 26MCPG@gmail.com or 027 243 5301; or chair Pete Sinton petesinton@townplanner.co.nz or 021 637 772.

Membership is $50 per household and our bank account number is: 38-9027-0631372-000