Public consultation has begun on a strategy to address the need for 5000 additional homes in Tairāwhiti by 2050.
Gisborne District Council’s Future Development Strategy has been under development since January 2022, with the aim of accommodating a population increase of 8700 people over the next 30 years.
Potential strategies were consulted on with stakeholders, iwi, hapū and the wider public between September and November 2022, during which time preferred choices of “intensification” and “western growth” emerged.
The resulting preferred option to be put out for community consultation early next year is a combination of the two, with a focus on concentration in existing urban parts of the city.
Many submissions viewed intensification as the best way to prevent urban sprawl from taking over land needed for agriculture, the council said.
Public transport and reduced dependency on vehicles were seen as key benefits of an intensified approach.
At Thursday’s meeting, councillors spoke about the significant amount of mahi that had gone into the strategy.
Mayor Rehette Stoltz called it a “massive” piece of work, noting it was not yet finalised.
“I want to make sure people realise our community still has the opportunity for input. That’s why we’re going to this formal consultation process,” she said.
The strategy didn’t go without critique from councillors, however, with a potential issue identified by two councillors being its accessibility to the general public.
Rawinia Parata said it wasn’t an easy read, which could affect participation.
“I worry sometimes that our people don’t engage because the language and terms are so far away from what they’re used to. Or they can’t see themselves in it, therefore they aren’t able to participate.
“It’s not that they don’t have good ideas or they don’t have good feedback, it’s that they’re not able to understand the document that’s in front of them.”
Parata suggested a supplementary document accompany the main one to break down what was being talked about.
Rhonda Tibble agreed with Parata, saying while most publications were at the reading level of a 12-year-old, the council document was that of a third year university student.
She volunteered her time to help make the information more accessible to the general public.
Nick Tupara said the report was based on national averages, and wondered if more consideration could be given to Tairāwhiti-specific data.
“I’m wondering whether or not we could give some consideration to a Tairāwhiti average. Home occupancy is at 1.6 per home. In Tairāwhiti, I would suggest that our local average is probably more like 10 per home,” he said.
“Because of our cultural and socio-economic make-up we perhaps tend to over-occupy homes on average.”
Gisborne District Council director sustainable futures Jo Noble said the council had looked at housing needs, including multi-generational homes and predictions for an older population.
The council was aware of the existing housing shortfall and overcrowding, as well as sub-standard housing, she said.
Consultation on the strategy began on Monday and will close January 31.
An event for in-person feedback from the community is scheduled for December 5.
More information can be found on the Gisborne District Council website.
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
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