Kerikeri Waipapa growth plan adopted by Far North District Council

Far North District Council is developing a spatial plan for Kerikeri, above, and nearby Waipapa, with six options to plan growth for the next 30-plus years going out of public consultation.

The Far North District Council has adopted the long-awaited Te Pātukurea – Kerikeri Waipapa Spatial Plan to guide the towns’ growth over the next 30 years.

The plan was formally adopted at an extraordinary council meeting last week and will help guide future growth and change in one of the district’s fastest-growing urban areas.

“Kerikeri, Waipapa and the surrounding area have seen significant population growth in recent years," Far North District Council (FNDC) said. ”In the absence of a clear plan, that growth has often led to fragmented development, high infrastructure costs, and limited housing options.”

Te Pātukurea responded to this situation by providing a strategic, evidence-based blueprint for growth over the next 30 years.

“It sets objectives for more resilient infrastructure, a diverse and affordable housing supply, better connected transport networks, and the protection of the natural environment, culture, and heritage.”

The plan is the result of extensive technical analysis, alongside engagement with mana whenua, other stakeholders and the wider public. It represents a major milestone as the first spatial plan delivered under the council’s Far North 2100 planning framework.

At the meeting, FNDC acknowledged feedback received during consultation in support of an alternative growth proposal led by a private developer. This proposal involves greenfield development to the northwest of Kerikeri.

In response, the council has identified a Contingent Future Growth Area in the plan, which may be considered in the future if several conditions are met. These include progressing through appropriate statutory processes such as a District Plan change, and alignment with regional and national plans and policies, delivering flood mitigation and other infrastructure at no cost to the council, engaging with mana whenua to ensure cultural alignment and support, and ensuring alignment with community aspirations.

This approach ensured that the adopted plan remained focused and deliverable, while keeping the door open to future opportunities such as the Contingent Future Growth Area, FNDC said.

Feedback from organisations including Federated Farmers was generally supportive of the draft spatial plan and advised that “the plan must prevent urban creep into rural areas and that the value of the rural residential zone to the rural economy is maintained as far as possible”.

“Any future growth and development must ensure that the appropriate infrastructure required for that development is provided at the expense of the developer, not the existing ratepayers,” Federated Farmers said in its submission.

It pointed out that rural ratepayers already contributed to council services that they did not receive, such as wastewater and water supply.

The Disabled Persons Assembly NZ submitted that it did not explicitly support or oppose the plan, but noted the growing percentage of the population that was disabled and recommended that all new housing options should accommodate disabled people.