Residents of Woodlands, Grant and Hukutaia roads may see Ōpōtiki District Council staff and contractors out and about collecting technical details to inform the application to rezone rural land in the Hukutaia Growth Area.

Planning and building manager Peter Edwards said this was a critical growth area for the district.

“Going back at least five years, successive councils have considered Hukutaia a key area for future growth around Ōpōtiki.

“I don’t think locals need reports from council to know that our town has a heck of a lot of constraints on growth – being located between two rivers and the sea means our options for more housing outside of those flooding and low-lying zones is fairly limited.

“Hukutaia already has strong links to town and water mains, good transport links and plenty of land and growth opportunities at scale, rather than occasional infill housing,” Mr Edwards said.

The council has contacted landowners in the Hukutaia Growth Area to advise that technical assessments are getting under way, ask if they would like to arrange a time for a site visit, and provide an opportunity to add their feedback into the Hukutaia Structure Plan.

Technical assessments include natural hazards (flooding and geotechnical), contaminated Land and HAIL registered locations, infrastructure services (water, wastewater, stormwater and water-sensitive design) and environmental considerations (including ecology, landscape and heritage).

“We have been in regular touch with landowners in the area and the Hukutaia Structure Plan was a big part of previous conversations through our previous long-term plan.

“We got great feedback through that process, and I think most people understood the council logic for using the SPP [Streamlined Planning Process] of the RMA [Resource Management Act].

“However, we are closely watching the RMA reforms being undertaken by central government to better understand the pathway alternate to SPP, which the council may have to adopt as a result.

“Council is not a developer, and we know that landowners will make their own decisions about subdivision or connecting to sewer mains as they become available and all those aspects of growth.

“But it is council’s job to look ahead at growth projections and plan for that growth sustainably.

“We are doing this work to encourage and progress development of the Hukutaia Growth Area,” Mr Edwards said.

Information on the previous stages of this project, including background to the Structure Plan and next steps is available on the council website.