U-turn on development upsets some, pleases others

The National Party’s U-turn on greenfield development has angered one Hutt Valley council, which says what little suitable land it has would be extremely expensive to develop.

If National wins the October election, it plans to give councils the ability to opt out of the medium density residential zone law which limits urban sprawl by allowing three-storey buildings on all residential land in major cities.

Introduced in December 2021, it was backed by both major parties with National’s Nicola Willis strongly supporting intensification. Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy supports National’s change of heart, saying it would result in his council regaining control over housing and give communities a greater say in where growth occurs. However, Hutt City deputy mayor Tui Lewis is unhappy with the U-turn and said the council had implemented changes in good faith, believing that with both major parties in support, the policy was set in concrete.

‘‘It is very disappointing. Urban sprawl is the exact opposite of what we need to do, especially with climate change.’’ She accused National of making policy ‘‘on the hoof’’ and said the change was essentially going back to the rules that created the current housing crisis. What little suitable greenfield, or undeveloped, land there was in the city lacked infrastructure and would be extremely expensive to develop, she said.

National MP and housing spokesperson Lower Hutt-based MP Chris Bishop noted that when the police was announced, Hutt City put in a submission opposing the policy. He said National’s policy would give councils greater flexibility to make local decisions, which many councils had asked for. Limiting urban sprawl had the unintended consequence of forcing the price of urban land up and he said that was a big contributor to

the current housing crisis.

One person with a different perspective is Upper Hutt-based developer Malcolm Gillies. He has completed several large-scale greenfield developments and is also looking to develop Plimmerton Farm in northern Porirua.

He supported greater greenfield development, saying it would give future generations more certainty about housing options. But Gillies noted not all councils in the region, including Hutt City and Wellington, had greenfield options.

One area that might open up for future greenfield development was the Wairarapa, he said.

The Government recently announced plans for a fleet of 18 new four-car trains for the Kāpiti and Wairarapa lines, which should make it more attractive to Wellingtonians. ‘‘There is a lot of potential there when people can just jump on a train.’’

Gillies predicted Labour would also change its policy, and said he supported rules that allow a mixture of urban growth and greenfield development. If National did make it easier to develop greenfield land near major cities, Gillies said it would lead to a nationwide increase in the cost of land, as developers snapped up rural land.

Hutt City councillor Brady Dyer chaired the district plan committee and, like Lewis, was frustrated National was abandoning a policy it helped implement.

The council had been in the middle of reviewing its plan when the new rules around intensification were forced upon it. It was clear not everyone in the community supported intensification and some people did not understand who was responsible for it, he said. ‘‘Council has to follow the law, and National and Labour changed the law requiring us to do this.’’ The council was also forced to make expensive changes to its District Plan, Dyer said. ‘‘We have had to front all the flack and meet the cost.’’

There was ‘‘no obvious’’ greenfield land in the city and what there was would require a large investment in infrastructure which the city could not afford.

National’s new policy would also require councils to identify how much housing is needed over the next 30 years and to make sure there is land available for development.

Bishop said that councils must do more to make sure there is land available and he disputed the claim that Hutt City had no greenfield land.