One Project continues full steam

The other you would struggle to find anything on

 

When the Auckland Plan and later the (Proposed Auckland) Unitary Plan came out it was highlighted by those in Auckland Council that there were two City Transformational Projects that would spearhead the 21st Century development of Auckland.

The one we know about is the main City Centre and all the work being done there since 2012 when the City Centre Master Plan became operative.

The second less well-known one is the Manukau City Centre as part of The Southern Initiative. Both places are meant to have the City Transformational Unit overseeing their urban renewal according to Planners and politicians of the Council.

 

Now we hear constantly about projects and announcements regarding everything happening to the City Centre. There is also a 208 page City Centre Master Plan that I was given a copy of when it went live in 2012. If you follow Council via digital means you will get updates one way or the other on happening and the latest announcements about the City Centre. Also the City Centre Integration Group led by Rick Warden give monthly updates (or were) on those happenings as well as giving the latest announcements to the Auckland Development Committee. So the City Transformation has been very busy with the City Centre there.

(see: City Centre Masterplan)

 

So what do we hear about the Manukau City Centre – City Transformational Project?

Well we only hear about The Southern Initiative once every three to six months or if something has gone wrong with it (The Southern Initiative has been trouble plagued since its rough inception in 2011 when the Auckland Plan went live). As for the Manukau City Transformational Project well:

• No Manukau City Centre Master Plan like the City Centre Master Plan
• No Tweets, Facebook updates, email stories or even something on LinkedIn
• No updates to the Auckland Development Committee
• The Auckland Design Office just not even being “there”
• An Area Plan that is considered airy-fairy owing to lack of commitment resource wise via the Long Term Plan
• Planners being underwhelming insofar as placing restrictive bounds to the Metropolitan Centre Zones (of which Manukau is under) on the premise of no appetite over the next 30 years to develop and intensify Manukau per the high level strategies of the Auckland Plan (THE AUCKLAND PLAN AND THE SYDNEY PLAN #2)

Basically in regards to the Manukau City Transformation Project in comparison to the City Centre Transformation project, we got nothing.

 

While the City Centre is the hub to 1.5m people (and pretty much New Zealand) a reminder that the reason why a City Transformational Unit was dedicated to Manukau were:

• Core sub regional, regional and even inter-regional (northern Waikato) hub
• A (smaller) City Centre to 570,000 of Southern Auckland as of 2014 with forecasts to take it to 900,000 by 2042
• Core hub that becomes the central focal point of the second prime project of The Auckland Plan, The Southern Initiative
• 15 minutes to the airport and surrounded by regional and inter-regional road and rail links
• Hub to near by heavy industrial complexes
• Sense of Identity placed upon it in comparison to the main City Centre

 

So essentially one of the two City Transformation Projects has fallen off the rails the last four years. Time to make it an #Auckland2016 ? If the Council doesn’t pull finger it might fast become an #Auckland2016 issue indeed!

 

And the first #Auckland2016 thing in regards to Manukau (seeming it has meant to have the City Transformational Unit looking after it) is to bring it up and out from its Metropolitan Centre Zone in the Auckland Plan and into the Super Metropolitan Centre Zone. The Super Metropolitan Centre Zone Objectives, Policies, and Development Controls paving the foundation down for the urban renewal of Manukau as it evolves as its role as that sub regional, regional and inter-regional hub.