Monitoring Strategy Other Publication
- Author
- Whangarei District Council
- Year
- 2001
- Publisher / Organisation
- Whangarei District Council
- Summary
- This report undertakes an assessment of the three alternative settlements patterns (Three Futures) contained in the Sustainable Futures 30/50 documentation and in the Growth Strategy Outline. The Three Futures were developed at a broad conceptual level using information and community feedback obtained from the WDC Coastal Management Strategy, the Urban Growth Strategy, the Urban Form Report, the Open Space Strategy, the draft Marsden Point/Ruakaka Structure Plan, and the 20/20 Plus CBD Development Plan. The Three Futures were presented to stimulate debate as to the preferred future settlement pattern for the district over the next 50 years. Future One represents a lightly regulated, market led approach to development and, in general, reflects land development in the district over the past 10-20 years. It is presented as a continuation of this lightly regulated, largely market driven approach to land development and can be seen as a baseline against which to evaluate the other two options, in addition to an alternative development path in its own right. Future Three represents a managed, consolidated development path based upon a structured five tier settlement pattern. This hierarchical arrangement is as follows: Whangarei City as the primary district and regional urban centre with a strong, protected and enduring CBD; a satellite town at Marsden Point/Ruakaka which complements (but does not compete with) Whangarei City; five urban villages within greater Whangarei; one rural (Hikurangi) and two coastal growth nodes at Parua Bay and Waipu; and two rural villages along with eight coastal villages located along the coastline from Waipu Cove in the south to Oakura in the north. Futures Two is an intermediate position between Futures One and Three. It represents a moderately controlled, less consolidated development path based upon a three tier settlement pattern. These tiers consist of: twin cities at Whangarei and Marsden Point/Ruakaka competing with each other for higher level service provision; urban and coastal settlements with some associated urban sprawl and ribbon development; and rural urban development largely at village level with some sporadic development throughout the rural area. The three alternative futures formed the basis of the first round of consultation with the community and Maori undertaken in early 2009. The community, stakeholder groups, and tangata whenua were encouraged to submit their views on the Growth Strategy generally and on the Three Futures specifically. They were asked to indicate which of the three future development paths they preferred and why they supported that particular future. The results of the consultation and feedback exercise indicated strong preference from the community and tangata whenua for Future Three. Following feedback from the consultation exercise, the three alternative futures were assessed using a range of criteria within a sustainable development framework (sustainability matrix), including sustainable economy and infrastructure, sustainable environment, sustainable society and sustainable culture. The sustainability criteria were aligned with community outcomes identified in the WDC Long Term Council Community Plan. A number of background reports were produced under each of the sustainability criteria and these were used as data sources to assess each of the Three Futures. Constraints upon, and consequences of, each scenario were analysed and recorded and a sustainability rating provided for each of the Three Futures. Infrastructure provision, together with indicative costs for such provision, was assessed. An assessment was also undertaken of the affect of infrastructure provision upon other sustainability criteria. The assessment indicated that Future Three had the least cost for infrastructure provision over the 50 year timeframe and the highest sustainability rating. Both were a function of the consolidated, planned approach to development under Future Three which enabled a proactive approach to infrastructure provision with minimal duplication. Finally, a preferred future has been chosen. Future Three was identified as the preferred development path, the "Sustainable Future" for the district. The preferred future is not an end in itself