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North Western Special Housing Areas Decision Welcomed
Youth organisation support decision to decline North Western Special Housing Areas
Youth organisation, Generation Zero, supports the decision of Auckland Council to decline applications for further Special Housing Areas in North-West Auckland. The Special Housing Area process has already allowed for the fast tracked development of 13,000 sections in the North-West of Auckland.
Spokesperson for Generation Zero, Dr Sudhvir Singh; “Auckland Council has already allowed the city to sprawl significantly in the North-West. Well designed developments in inner suburbs close to public transport should now be prioritised, as that is the missing housing choice that Aucklanders are calling for.”
Dr Singh explains that young people are after choices and don’t want to be forced out to the urban fringe; “As young people, we’re looking for housing choices close to where we need to be, and more transport options, such as cycling and public transport, rather just using our cars. Any policy should be enabling this kind of development rather than pushing young people out to the urban fringe. During the Unitary Plan public submission process, thousands of Aucklanders submitted in support of these ideas.”
The government is failing to act to ensure new greenfield developments are served well by public transport, therefore new residents will be forced to join the existing traffic queues, making congestion in Auckland even worse. Dr Singh; “Instead of just widening the North-Western motorway, Council and Government needs to prioritise the North-Western busway to give people in the North-West transport choices.”
“Young people are calling for 'density done well', enabling more housing choices in areas where we work and study. Instead of focussing on urban sprawl, the Government and Council should focus on quality medium-density developments close to public transport which would help Auckland overcome the major challenges of housing affordability, traffic congestion and climate change” says Dr Singh.
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