The #SuperManukau Work is Independent to the 2013 Elections

With the election campaign under way for the 2013 Local Elections, existing projects such as the Unitary Plan can get caught up in campaign politicking. Essentially it means projects can get kicked around like a football for political mileage and potentially damage the said project.

I am keeping a very close eye on the Auckland Local Elections not only for the commentary running but also business reasons as well.

When one is advocating on behalf of clients or themselves with a project involving Council – including the Councillors (who are facing elections), an election can throw a spanner in things if not managed properly.

The Manukau Super Metropolitan Centre is one project at the moment and one being watched with the elections now on.

I am aware a certain mayoral candidate is touting as a policy at “developing” Manukau to take pressure off the Isthmus area as the city grows an extra million.

In keeping a very close eye on developments I did see this in the Herald this morning: “Cities need mayoral contests.”

It does cover things I have mentioned before such as one horse races and some policy aspects being touted around.

I also caught this in the comments box which has me on “alert” at the moment for reasons explained in the opening paragraph:

I for one, prefer John Palino’s vision for Auckland. He is the first to publicly espouse the idea of shift the jobs to the people, not the people to the jobs. His vision, and New York experience, would create a more vibrant, livable place. 

Build a major commercial complex in Wiri where there is space and suitable terrain. Do the same on the Shore and out west. Save people having to travel into the CBD.

 

Turn the CBD buildings into mixed use. Make the upper floors into nice apartments for those who do work in the CBD. Imagine commuting by elevator, or just a short walk down the road. It makes much more sense, but then Loopy Lenny and co have never been noted for that have they ??

Yeah I knew that was going to happen when either a project is happening behind the scenes or there is an actual information vacuum out there. Fortunately my reply did get through the Herald’s moderation department:

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Quoting: “Build a major commercial complex in Wiri where there is space and suitable terrain. Do the same on the Shore and out west. Save people having to travel into the CBD.”

If one reads the Unitary Plan and keeps an eye towards the Unitary Plan processes and social media those aspects you mention are already under way. There is already a major commercial complex out south – Manukau City Centre waiting to be unleashed in its development. Wiri (the industrial complex) is up for expansion in a plan change to its west.

The west will have the New Lynn and Westgate Metropolitan Centres which will become major mix-use hubs serving their areas. For the Shore we have Takapauna and Albany as Metropolitan Centres, one which could be pushed even further as a “third CBD” in 25 years.

These aspects are already under way independent of the election cycle and candidate whims 😉
Just a case of watch and patience

The above shows there is still information vacuums with the Unitary Plan at the moment. This can make worthwhile projects prone to electioneering currently out there. So a word of caution, just because a candidate has touted it as original policy does not mean it is already under way.

So in regards to #SuperManukau, that work carries out independently and regardless of the electioneering out there. For a #BetterAuckland

You can keep track of the Manukau project via this link: https://voakl.net/category/planning/urban-planning-and-design/manukau/