“It’s the year 2045 – What does Hawke’s Bay look like?"

This is the question Napier City Council, Hastings District Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council are asking in the first step of the Heretaunga Plains Urban Development Strategy (HPUDS).

A stakeholder reference group, made up of 20 representatives, has met three times and and a hui has been held with local Maori to discuss the assumptions, principals and the community values of the Heretaunga Plains, which were then incorporated into further work.

Now, consultants Wasley Knell Ltd have provided the HPUDS Governance Group with three scenarios for how urban development could progress between 2015 and 2045.

The HPUDS Governance Group, which includes elected members from each council, is starting informal consultation this week by sending and outline of three scenarios to more than 150 business, community and environmental groups to seek their informal feedback.

Governance Group chair and Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott says submissions will be assessed and taken into account when determining the preferred scenario, before a further round of formal consultation on a draft strategy takes place in March or April.

“The three different scenarios have been designed to help you think broadly about the options for how the environment might look in 2045 when growth is planned using different methods.

“No one scenario is necessarily the final desired outcome and you may think that a blend of the ideas would be the right approach.

“Although this is simply initial informal consultation at this stage, it is a great opportunity to have input into how growth should be managed across the Heretaunga Plains,” says Mayor Arnott.

For further information on the HPUDS process visit //http://www.hpuds.co.nz .

ENDS

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