Housing Minister Chris Bishop has accepted nine out of 10 alternative zoning recommendations in Wellington City Council’s proposed District Plan.

This includes 15 minute walkable catchments around the city centre zone, reduced character protections, building heights, and making the Johnsonville Line a rapid transit service. The Minister has not accepted the Kilbirnie upzoning recommendations to consult with the community before enabling increased development.

“This is a step forward for Wellington and shows commitment from both local and central government to fixing our housing crisis,” says Mayor Whanau.

“Wellington City is growing, and our housing needs to grow with it. We are expecting 50 to 80 thousand more people over the coming 30 years.

“At a bare minimum, everyone in this city deserves a warm, safe, and dry place to call home.

“We are committed to working with the Government so we can build a modern city by enabling people to build where they want and need to, close to the central city where infrastructure, jobs and communities already exist. This is how we build an affordable, vibrant, and resilient city.

“As Mayor, I want to make sure that we are planning and building for the next generation. A generation who will bring their talent and ideas and add to our city’s rich history, culture and economy. To do that we need to make sure there are abundant and affordable places for them to live.

The Minister has not accepted any of the 10 heritage recommendations.

“We are obviously disappointed that the Minister was unable to accept our alternative recommendations on heritage protection.

“The issue is that under the current law these buildings are considered heritage. However, we have recently written to the Minister about making it easier to delist heritage buildings and he is seeking advice. We will continue to work with him on this.”

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