A sensible backdown

Anne Gibson at NZ Herald reports:

The controversial plan of containing three-quarters of new housing development within Auckland’s existing city boundaries is being revised.

Auckland Council has eased up on its vision of squeezing residents up closer by keeping 75 per cent of new housing on existing land and just 25 per cent outside the limits within the next three decades.

Instead, it is now discussing a 60/40 split, which the development sector is hailing as a victory after intense opposition and lobbying and independent reports which criticised the original scheme as unworkable.

Well it was. Plus the impact on house prices would have been huge upwards pressure.

The decision is not final. The Council is talking 60% to 70% and there is a big difference between those numbers. I thought 50/50 was a good split but 60/40 would be okay. 70/30 would still not be workable in my opinion.

The city definitely needs to intensify, and will. But the city also needs to grow outwards – the population growth makes this essential.