Over the past two decades, greater Auckland has been subject to a process of growth management facilitated through various strategic and legislative documents. An over-arching objective has been to manage the growth of Auckland in a higher density, centres-based manner consistent with the Auckland Regional Growth Strategy. Effect is given to this strategy through a series of layers of control including the Local Government Amendment (Auckland) Act, the Regional Policy Statement and then via District Plans.

A key outcome of this process was the establishment of a Metropolitan Urban Limit (“MUL”) or urban fence that dictated the nature and extent of urban activities that could occur within the MUL and hence also dictated the relative values of land within the MUL.

One of the more significant shifts of the MUL has occurred in the northwest corner of Waitakere City in the Massey North area. Current “greenfields” development land owned by New Zealand Retail Property Group (“NZRPG”) forms a major part of the proposed Massey North Town Centre facilitated by the MUL shift and TDG has been assisting NZRPG achieve their objective of developing a compact, successful and vibrant town centre. The NZRPG proposals would see between 110,000 and 160,000 sqm of development floor area with a further 100,000 sqm developed by others. By way of comparison, this would be the equivalent of seven St Lukes Shopping Centres, six Riccarton Malls, five Queensgates!

Working within the legislative and planning framework outlined above, a Plan Change to the Waitakere District Plan (Plan Change 15) was necessary to establish the zoning, policy and objectives needed to create the Town Centre. PC15 also created two further layers of planning controls to be passed through before development could occur. Firstly a Comprehensive Development Plan (“CDP”) needs to be approved covering the broad outline, structure and form of development intended across five precincts within the Town Centre, and then once the CDP is in place, individual resource consents are required consistent with both PC15 and the CDP.

TDG has just completed presenting evidence to the Commissioners hearing the CDP applications for two of the five precincts within the Town Centre. A Paramics micro-simulation model (originally developed by others but modified for the purposes of the CDP hearing process) has been used to assess the potential transport effects of the CDP applications and to develop a workable transport solution that would be acceptable to the NZ Transport Agency as well as the Council and adjoining land owners from other precincts.

We are still also running another aspect of work designing the intersections within the Town Centre.

TDG has put in several months worth of work, involving several TDG staff, at times complex consultation with Council and NZTA has now resulted in what is (nearly) a mutually acceptable transport solution. Our contributions have been valued not only in the technical areas of transport modelling and traffic engineering, but also in the communication, negotiation and expert witnessing needed to achieve this integrated outcome for what will be New Zealand’s newest greenfields town centre.