Photo: 123rf
Plans show Gisborne could be in for thousands of new homes, as part of a strategy to densify the city.
It is part of a plan by the Gisborne District Council, called the Future Development Strategy, which provides guidance on where the region's housing and business growth happens over the next three decades.
Council papers show the region has a predicted future population increase of about 8700 people, a demand for more than 5000 new homes, and affordability of homes is flagged as a key concern for many whānau.
The council's plan would make capacity for 5650 new houses in Gisborne City - more than the projected demand - over the next 30 years, and an additional 2235 new houses outside the city would be possible on existing zoned land.
The plan estimates 4300 homes will result from intensification in the "existing urban environment" - that is, the city - as well as 780 to be built on previously undeveloped land outside the city, and 570 by increasing the number of homes in existing rural residential or lifestyle areas.
Intensification means building more homes within existing urban areas, saving the areas which aren't already developed for farming, food production or biodiversity benefits, and meaning people have shorter distances to travel in their day-to-day life.
Growth areas include the city centre and its immediate surrounds with a predicted capacity of 1200 more homes, Elgin with the potential for another 660 homes, Te Hapara and Barry Park with 870, Lytton West with 300, Whataupoko and Mangapapa with 670, and Kaitī with another 600.
Three Māori-led developments are recognised in the plan - one at the former rifle range site in Sponge Bay, another at Huxley Road in Outer Kaiti, and a papakāinga and health precinct planned for a block of land next to Gisborne Hospital, owned by local iwi Te Aitanga a Māhaki, which council papers say has the potential for housing opportunities.
The council said there were multiple benefits to densifying cities, rather than sprawling outwards -- build costs were lower per dwelling, meaning new homes would be more affordable for buyers, and with more potential public transport passengers in one place, buses would become more frequent and affordable.
This made it easier for people to commute, and the closeness of homes to each other and to workplaces and shops promoted walking and cycling over car-use, as well as making neighbourhoods feel more social.
The council is asking for public feedback on its plan, and submissions close at the end of January.
