Lessons Learnt from Auckland: WRLC Field Trip to Māngere Priority Development Area

In late July this year, several members of the WRLC Secretariat took a roadtip to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, along with a number of other local government and central government staff.

The purpose of the trip was to inform our work by hearing from others around the country about what they have done and are doing with their Priority Development Areas (PDAs) – in particular the Manukau/Māngere PDA.  To learn more about the PDAs in the Wellington-Wairarapa-Horowhenua region – see WRLC Priority Development Areas.

An informative presentation and discussion were held with those running the Māngere Development, covering some key elements in the delivery of this programme: the Spatial Delivery Strategy, engagement with community and iwi, governance, resourcing of the team, and development with build partners.  We also went on a site visit of some medium density housing on what had been bare land close to the Manukau town centre and to the Manukau rail station which includes the Manukau Institute of Technology – a great example of a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).

What we learned…

1. Developing a Spatial Delivery Strategy with key partners is a must – it provides an agreed vision and development plan for all and the basis for implementation going forward.
2. This joint planning provides a clear direction for business cases for funding and resources, joint funding opportunities and co-ordination of timing of project implementation.
3. A spatial view of the vision provides a lot of clarity about what is going where, when, and is a great communication tool.
4. While it is important to have a lead organisation (in Māngere’s case this is Kainga Ora), everyone has a role to play in housing development in a Priority Development Area. We saw some great iwi and private sector housing developments that had been built as part of the Māngere work.
5. Implementation is a long term game, for example the timeline for implementing the Māngere Spatial Delivery Strategy is approximately 15 years, and you have to work hard to keep the vision going for this length of time.

We are starting to apply these lessons to the PDAs in this region, all of which are at a much earlier stage than Māngere.