Priority Development Areas Update, May 2022

The Wellington Regional Leadership Committee has been through a process to identify a number of Priority Development Areas (PDAs) to assist in providing a focused set of urban development projects for the region consistent with the Wellington Regional Growth Framework spatial plan.

This activity has also been undertaken by other Urban Growth Agenda regions across the country.

Typically, PDAs are urban development projects that are identified as:

1. offering opportunities for accelerated and/or significant development to accommodate projected future growth;
2. require a partnership approach to deliver them at the desired pace and scale, and
3. are in a key location to give effect to spatial plans / WRLC objectives.

Our current list of PDA’s have the potential to deliver significant housing and other benefits to the region, and support WRLC’s objectives.

The PDA approach offers significant benefits to the region such as:

• Ensuring that the right agencies are involved in the project from the start, which enables collective planning, problem-solving, decision-making, and risk mitigation
• Formalising project partnerships between central government, local government and iwi.
• Involving central government agencies and therefore increasing access to central government resources
• The projects are highlighted at the top political level, which helps to identify issues for the WRLC and clear hurdles
• Improving communication of project progress, including communicating issue and risk mitigation measures to all project stakeholders
• Improving transparency of the efforts of all project partners.

WRLC projects selected as PDAs are:

These projects were shortlisted from 34 potential projects because they:

1. are agreed, defined and resourced projects, with clearly defined outcomes
2. contribute to WLRC objectives, significant housing and other benefits to the region:

• • Align with government direction and policies
  • Offer opportunities for accelerated and/or significant development
  • Offer affordable, inclusive and diverse housing opportunities
  • Support Māori housing aspirations and process delivery
  • Have proximity or good access to local employment
  • Support a shift to a low-no carbon future, including PT and active modes
  • Encourage sustainable, resilience and affordable settlement patterns/urban forms
  • Support protection and enhancement of the natural environment
  • Incorporate hazard mitigation including climate change impacts

Projects that don’t meet the CDO criteria but may do in future are below:

Projects to watch:

• Johnsonville – WCC
• Lincolnshire Farm – WCC
• Paraparaumu central area – KCDC
• Tara Ika – HDC
• Titahi Bay – PCC
• West-East Connection Investigation – WRLC

What happens next?

• The CDO projects will form Project Task Groups, including central and local government and iwi partners to deliver the projects
• A project protocol will be established to support issue resolution and ensure transparency
• Regular reporting to the WRLC and Government ministers will elevate the projects and ensure that the partnerships are effective, and progress is monitored
• These lists are not definitive, but are a constantly evolving process with continual opportunities to add to them, so processes will be in place to regularly monitor the two lists, to reassess projects’ status.