infonews.co.nz
Login Sign up
COUNCIL

Planning for More Growth in Pukekohe

Franklin District Council

Friday 11 July 2008, 12:13PM

By Franklin District Council

2,258 views

Map from page 77 of the DGS for the area involved, labelled as Growth Area �F�.
Map from page 77 of the DGS for the area involved, labelled as Growth Area F. Credit: Franklin District Council
Franklin District Council Chief Executive, Sally Davis and Mayor Mark Ball, with Cape Hill Trust representatives, Layne Kells and Ian Laywood, sign the agreement at the site of the proposed new growth area.
Franklin District Council Chief Executive, Sally Davis and Mayor Mark Ball, with Cape Hill Trust representatives, Layne Kells and Ian Laywood, sign the agreement at the site of the proposed new growth area. Credit: Franklin District Council

PUKEKOHE

Franklin District Council and the Cape Hill Trust will be working together towards providing more residential land in Pukekohe.

Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the two parties will work towards notifying a change to Franklin’s District Plan. This change will allow more land to be developed into residential sections and homes in Cape Hill.

“Franklin is a great place and more people are moving here which means we have to provide for growth. Council is using a partnership approach to planning for this growth to ensure that it happens with us, not to us,” says Franklin District Council Mayor, Mark Ball.

The District Growth Strategy predicts that Pukekohe will grow to more than 40,000 residents by 2051. By working with the Cape Hill Trust, Council can be more assured that any change to Franklin’s District Plan will result in planned, affordable and designed growth in Pukekohe without the need for the expensive plan change process funded by ratepayers.

“We hear a lot of negative news about the economy but Franklin is continuing to grow and the signing of an agreement with Cape Hill Trust shows investors are still confident of a future in Franklin. By undertaking the time consuming planning work now we will be even better prepared for growth when the market turns,” says Franklin District Council Mayor, Mark Ball.

The agreement outlines how Cape Hill Trust and Council will work towards developing a plan for the area. It doesn’t take away any of the resource management process, Council is still one hundred per cent committed to a fair and consultative process as required under the Resource Management Act. However it does take away the burden of ratepayers completely resourcing Council’s planning process.

The new residential area is the second area in Pukekohe where Council has used the joint approach to growth. In March of this year Franklin District Council and the West End Residents and Landowners Association (WERLA) signed an MOU to begin planning for a new neighbourhood in Pukekohe.