The Auckland Housing Accord: SHAm or SHAlvation? (part 2)
In the first part of this post, I talked about how the Housing Accord signed by Auckland Council and the government had two clear goals: “increased housing supply and improved housing affordability”. Those two goals are clearly laid out in the first sentence of the Accord.…
9 Comments The Auckland Housing Accord: SHAm or SHAlvation? (part 1)
Part one of a two-part post. Part two coming soon!
The Auckland Housing Accord was signed between the Auckland Council and government in October 2013, and ran for three years to the end of September 2016. It allowed for “Special Housing Areas” (SHAs) to be created, with new rules from the notified Unitary Plan, and streamlined consenting processes.…
Special Housing Areas – the last batch
The three-year Housing Accord between the government and Auckland Council finishes this September. A key part of that agreement is the creation of Special Housing Areas – places where developers can use the rules from the Proposed Unitary Plan rather than the existing set of rules, and where resource consents can (supposedly) be fast tracked.…
The next batch of Special Housing Areas
The council yesterday announced the seventh tranche of special housing areas and for the first time, all are redevelopments of existing sites within the urban area. They say that all up this could allow for up to 1,600 new dwellings in Auckland – if they actually get built.…
Do it right the first time
Several months back, I took a look at the way we’re designing street networks and neighbourhoods in greenfield subdivisions. It’s not a pretty picture. The reigning assumption seems to be that places on the edge of the city are car-dependent now and will be car-dependent forever.…
Council and Government fight over sprawl
The Auckland Council and the government have locked horns over the council rejecting three greenfield Special Housing Area (SHA) developments in the North West of Auckland. At the heart of the matter is who should pay for the infrastructure needed to support the development.…
2014 – A Year in Review Part 4 – Everything else
In this fourth post reviewing the 2014 I’ll look at the topics not already covered.
Central Government Election
2014 was dominated – either directly or indirectly by the central government elections which is not surprising considering how much impact the government has on transport and urban policy.…
Housing Accord first year results
The results for the first full year of the Housing Accord between the government and Auckland Council have just been released.
It’s a politically charged topic – witness the government talking it up (“First year Auckland Housing Accord target exceeded“), and Phil Twyford from Labour rather unfairly talking it down (“Fourth housing report confirms failure“).…
4th batch of Special Housing Areas Announced
Yesterday the council and government announced the next batch of Special Housing Areas. These are the areas that are able to use a fast tracked consenting processes and for which the Unitary Plan rules (with a few conditions) come in to effect immediately.…
Questions about Helensville SHA
We have had concerns about a number of the Special Housing Areas that have been announced. A month ago I looked in depth into the locations and types of SHA’s. I found nearly 10,000 dwellings have been announced outside the urban limits, which will put huge pressure on infrastructure and council budgets.…
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