Howick Councillor led charge of such remarks

Modelling Projections included

One thing noticeable in the Unitary Plan debate is the unsavoury if not foul remarks from certain Councillors and the landed gentry when “defending” their leafy suburbs is to dump the bulk of the intensified growth in the South and West.

Figures from economic modelling presented by Council to the Unitary Plan currently shows this and can be seen below:

Apart from the City Centre and Tamaki the rest of the Isthmus is slacking off with the South taking the bulk of all future residential growth (both Brownfield and Greenfield) (30%)

Does this mean with the Isthmus slacking off that the Light Rail plans for the Isthmus should be abandoned and the resources sent for the North West Bus Way and the Third Main for the Southern Line? Why yes it does!

From Auckland Now:

There is a distasteful prejudice in the discussion over how Auckland should grow, deputy mayor Penny Hulse says.

Inner-city suburbs are getting the best of the council’s coffers but vocal residents also say their suburbs are “aspirational” and intensification would be better to happen further out, in the west and south.

“Not only is more money being spent in these suburbs closer to the CBD, there’s also an expectation that there is not going to be much growth in them,” Hulse says.

“And as someone who lives out west – that really strikes me as being fundamentally not right.”

Zoning along the main transport corridors and close to town centres should be equal “whether it’s Remuera or Glendowie or Glen Eden”, she says.

Hulse says the concept of “aspirational suburbs” has been a recurring theme over the past few months.

Residents of inner-city suburbs have espoused the view that their suburbs “should pretty much stay as they are because they are leafy and beautiful and that people out west and down south should simply accept that their suburbs aren’t as worthy of preservation”.

The deputy mayor’s comments come after the city’s councillors on February 24 withdrew a proposal to amend zonings in the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan. The proposal would have up-zoned entire suburbs with no consultation.

But Hulse says it was requested by the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel in order to make intensification more uniform across the city.

There was no time for consultation with only about a month to make the changes, she says.

Over the past few months Hulse says she has been listening to people from affected suburbs.

“And there’s a certain amount of prejudice creeping into this discussion, which I find distasteful.

“Their preference is that the west is probably of less importance, and to save some of the ‘lovely suburbs’ in their area, the west should just suck it up and grow more.

“Now if the south and the west were also going to accept the bulk of the expensive infrastructure investment, like light rail which is being promoted in places like Dominion Rd and through the Eden-Albert area, then maybe this would be a more equable discussion.”

…..

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/77557447/Penny-Hulse-Aspirational-suburbs-as-an-idea-is-distateful

When you have the Manurewa Local Board Chair call her suburb a Welfare suburb and one of the Howick Ward Councillors stating in that February 24 meeting that Howick should be preserved and the growth should go in the less aspirational areas of the South and West (also subscribes to the One Law for All campaign) you know we have a big problem with the fitness of some of our elected representatives.

That said I wonder if the 13 Councillors really get the Governance around the Unitary Plan processes as well after Councillor Wood’s disaster of an interview yesterday (As Council Goes Silent with the #UnitaryPlan, One of the 13 is at a Total Loss on Why He Voted That Way).

In the end even the Government when it comes to transport investment will follow the growth patterns and if that does mean the South and West then so be it. It becomes a very simple equation where the growth goes (Brown or Greenfield) the investment surely follows.

On current train of thoughts if the South is to take 30% of all growth and Auckland Transport says no more than 80% of those in the South to commute no further north than Manukau and the Airport I wonder if Auckland is going to end up with a Twin Cities situation.