Draft Oamaru, Weston and Kakanui Spatial Plan

No longer on display. Expired on 19 November 2021, 05:00 PM

We have been asking for public feedback on our draft Spatial Plan for Ōamaru, Weston and Kakanui.

The Plan sets out initial ideas of how development could happen in these areas over the next 30+ years.  The draft Plan was developed with Kai Tahu and informed by consultation with multiple stakeholders, as well as utilising data gathered on current trends and growth expectations.

Public engagement ran from 11 October - 19 November. The feedback period is now closed. All feedback received will be considered in the development of the final Spatial Plan, with the final Plan expected to be adopted in 2022. 

Read the Plan

Hot topics

Parks and Reserves

Public open spaces haven’t been targeted for sale to housing developers. This draws rather a long bow, and simply isn’t true.

There is no suggestion that reserves are ‘for sale’ or that a reserve transfer process is being fast tracked. Any sale of specific reserve land would need to be extensively publicly consulted on before it was considered.

We’re simply asking if you think any parts of our reserve land, (which ratepayers pay to maintain), could be put to better use. Think our reserves should stay exactly as they are? Let us know – that’s what this feedback period is all about. 

Multi-story buildings and medium density housing

Affordable housing is a big problem in New Zealand and we’d like to be part of the solution. 

This doesn’t mean the South Hill will look like the Gold Coast overnight.

But we can’t ignore this problem in favour of the status quo. Should we plan to build smarter on the land that we have, or continue spreading out forever? Tell us what you think.

Oamaru living space - finding more homes for people

5 key facts on the National Policy Statement on Urban Development and how this relates to the Spatial Plan.

  1. Central Government’s National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) came into effect on 20 August 2020.
  2. The NPS-UD requires councils to plan for growth and ensure the delivery of a ‘well-functioning urban environment’ for all people, communities and future generations – this means ensuring that people can live close to jobs, community services, public transport, and other amenities.

  3. The NPS-UD directs all applicable councils, including Ōamaru as a Tier 3 urban environment, to enable more housing that meets the diverse needs of the community by allowing new development both up and out. It is important to note that the NPS-UD only directs that intensification be ENABLED not REQUIRED. Just because it may remove the barriers to higher density housing this doesn’t mean that it will necessary happen.

  4. In the context of Ōamaru, intensification must be provided for in accordance with the level of accessibility or demand. The Council has completed an initial assessment and identified the areas where intensification could occur. Council will undertake a further accessibility and demand assessment to inform intensification locations as required under the NPS-UD. The areas shown in the Spatial Plan are an indication of those areas where further assessments will be undertaken to determine if they are suitable.

  5. The policy direction from the NPS-UD tells us which areas must be enabled for intensification and include those that:
  • are in or around the town centre, or any other area that provides employment opportunities; and
  • areas with high accessibility by active or public transport; and
  • areas with high demand – guidance in the NPS-UD tells us that this includes areas around the town centre, near schools, areas close to open space or areas with good outlooks/views.

So, there's no need to panic about this, but we DO need to start thinking about how a larger population could be accommodated. Check out the draft plan, we'd love your feedback. 

Growth promotion

We ARE growing and we DO want to attract more people to Waitaki, making it thriving place, and building the future of the district. 

To stimy growth when we have an aging population is to step on the district’s neck. We’re losing too many of our bright young things to towns with more opportunities. 

 

Have your say 

The feedback period closed on Friday 19 November 2021 

 

Community drop-in sessions

Ōamaru   Scottish Hall Tuesday 2 November 2021
  • 12.15pm – 2.15pm
  • 7.00pm – 9.00pm 
Weston   Weston Hall  Wednesday 3 November 2021
  • 12.15pm – 2.15pm
  • 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Kakanui   Kakanui Hall  Thursday 4 November 2021
  • 12.15pm – 2.15pm
  • 7.00pm – 9.00pm   
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