Consents for special housing areas to continue

Tauranga City Council agreed today to amend the Tauranga Housing Accord, to allow Council to continue processing resource consents for developments in Special Housing Areas. Photo/file

Tauranga City Council will continue processing resource consents for developments in special housing areas.

The Tauranga Housing Accord was about to expire, and council today agreed to amend the Accord to allow continued processing of resource consents.

The Housing Accord and Special Housing Act was the government's way of enhancing housing affordability by helping increase land and housing supply.

Last week the government decided to extend, through a bill, the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013, giving councils three more years to establish special housing areas in growth areas.

Over the past three years, Tauranga City Council had recommended, and had approved, the establishment of twelve special housing areas.

Eight of these had progressed through to resource consenting stage, with 662 new sections already consented as at 30 June 2016.

Tauranga City Council mayor Stuart Crosby and Building and Housing minister Dr Nick Smith would be signing an amendment to the Tauranga Housing Accord, which will extend the validity of the current accord until the new accord has been negotiated with the incoming council.

In the meantime, council would be able to continue assessing the qualifying developments currently lodged with council, or any future qualifying development, and to grant or refuse applications for resource consents.

The incoming council, post local elections, will review the Tauranga Housing Accord and council's Policy on Housing Accord and Special Housing Area Act 2013 Implementation, once they had decided their objectives relating to housing and urban development.

Subject to these outcomes, council may consider new special housing areas.

Approved special housing areas in Tauranga:
Golden Sand and Palm Springs, Papamoa East
Girven Rd, Mount Maunganui
Smiths Farm, Bethlehem
Adler Drive, Ohauiti
Domain Rd
Papamoa East
Waihi Rd, Judea