Property

Urban Development Authorities on the way

Faster urban development is needed to solve housing market pressures so the government will be establishing specific authorities to enable it.

Tuesday, February 14th 2017

Building Minister Nick Smith announced today that public consultation on legislation to fast track the redevelopment of urban areas is now underway.

The move comes in a bid to better meet current housing and commercial growth pressures.

New Zealand needs Urban Development Authority (UDA) legislation to enable faster and better quality regeneration in our major cities, Smith said.

“These new authorities need the power to assemble parcels of land, develop site specific plans, reconfigure infrastructure and to construct a mix of public and private buildings to create vibrant hubs for modern urban living.”

The UDAs, which will support the National Policy Statement on Urban Development, are part of the Government’s solution to Auckland’s growth pressures over housing and infrastructure.

Smith said the UDAs would enable major redevelopment projects like those proposed or under way in areas such as Hobsonville, Tamaki, Three Kings and Northcote to occur three to five years faster.

“The international experience in cities like London, Melbourne, Sydney, Toronto and Singapore is that UDAs can create vibrant, new suburbs, with greater gains for housing, jobs and amenities than through usual incremental, piecemeal redevelopment.”

The key to the success of UDAs is in how they interact with councils and businesses, he said.

“We are proposing a model of UDAs which requires the support of both central and local government, and one that maximises the role of the private sector in development.”

UDAs were first suggested by the Productivity Commission in 2015.

They are now set to become part of the Government’s arsenal of reforms that are intended to grow housing supply, particularly in Auckland.

Smith said the growth of New Zealand cities has historically been dominated by new greenfield developments on the perimeter of our cities.

“This reform is about providing new tools to enable redevelopment of existing areas in cities like Auckland and Wellington in a way that provides more housing, better infrastructure and a stronger community.”

The Government’s discussion document and more information can be found here

Consultation on the proposed UDA legislation closes on 19 May.

Read more:

Speeding up housing development 

Councils must open up land to match growth 

Comments

No comments yet

Most Read

Unity First Home Buyer special 4.29
SBS FirstHome Combo 4.29
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 4.85
China Construction Bank 4.85
ICBC 4.85
TSB Special 4.89
Kiwibank Special 4.89
ASB Bank 4.89
SBS Bank Special 4.89
Westpac Special 4.89
BNZ - Std 4.89
Nelson Building Society 4.93
ICBC 4.95
SBS Bank Special 4.95
China Construction Bank 4.95
Wairarapa Building Society 4.95
TSB Special 4.95
ANZ Special 4.95
ASB Bank 4.95
Kainga Ora 4.95
Westpac Special 4.95
AIA - Go Home Loans 4.95
SBS Bank Special 5.39
Westpac Special 5.39
ICBC 5.39
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.59
BNZ - Std 5.59
BNZ - Classic 5.59
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.59
ASB Bank 5.59
Kainga Ora 5.69
Kiwibank Special 5.79
ANZ 5.79
SBS Construction lending for FHB 3.94
AIA - Back My Build 4.44
CFML 321 Loans 4.99
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.95
Co-operative Bank - Standard 5.95
Heartland Bank - Online 5.99
Pepper Money Prime 6.29
Kiwibank - Offset 6.35
Kiwibank 6.35
TSB Special 6.39
Kainga Ora 6.44

More Stories

Four decades of 6-7% yearly house price growth ending

Friday, March 21st 2025

Four decades of 6-7% yearly house price growth ending

New Zealander’s reliance on property capital gains in the mid-single digits is at an end.

[TMM Podcast] Yelsa serves up “marine reserve” of property buyers

Friday, January 31st 2025

[TMM Podcast] Yelsa serves up “marine reserve” of property buyers

It’s been years in the making and former real estate agent Mike Harvey is now coming to market with his platform matching buyers and sellers, an offering he says will be a gamechanger for the industry.

Leaving last year's stumbling housing market behind

Friday, January 17th 2025

Leaving last year's stumbling housing market behind

As interest rates ease and job losses climb, New Zealand’s housing market faces a mixed year of modest growth, with conflicting forces shaping the outlook for homebuyers and investors.

Don’t bet on house prices rising faster than incomes

Wednesday, January 15th 2025

Don’t bet on house prices rising faster than incomes

Former Reserve Bank Governor and National Party leader Don Brash says there are grounds for believing that house prices may finally have ended the three-decade period when they rose significantly faster than incomes.