Review of urban planning system is a major step towards reform

Property Council strongly supports the Government’s request to review New Zealand’s urban planning system by the Productivity Commission.

The request comes hot off the heels of the Commission’s Using Land for Housing inquiry into land supply and its dire impact on housing affordability which called for a “deeper review of the planning system”.

Chief executive Connal Townsend says it has never been more timely to look at all aspects of how we plan and fund the growth of our cities.

“We are unconditional supporters of this review. For so long, we have been saying that a holistic and comprehensive approach must be applied. The issues are complex and multi-layered.

“Our country’s three most powerful planning laws have created a mosh pit of bureaucratic complexities, driving costs at both the supplier and buyer ends, sky high.

“The Resource Management Act, the Local Government Act and the Land Transport Management Act suffer from a lack of cohesion, seamless integration and logical connection. Instead of complementing each other, they compete with each other.

“We desperately need to limit the financial and economic risks currently emanating from our urban planning system, and until we do, our cities will suffer from a shortage of skilled workforce, productivity and competitiveness.

“While the Productivity Commission works on this inquiry, it is important that the Government use the tools it currently has to address these issues. It must, in our view, quickly implement the recommendations contained in the Using Land for Housing report and progress a national policy statement for urban development.

“Unresponsive planning rules are causing delays and reducing certainty, which add costs. An OECD report found that regulations add between $32,500 and $60,000 per dwelling in subdivisions and $65,000 and $110,000 per apartment. Too often, these costs bring projects to a grinding halt.”

Until these planning rules are addressed, Auckland and other growth areas such as Tauranga, Whangarei, Waikato, and Wellington, will suffer from constraints on growth and expensive house prices, which in turn decreases their desirability as cities.

These rules must be scrutinised together and alongside each other to achieve an optimum outcome. They should not be approached and examined in isolation as land, transport, infrastructure, urban design rules and planning rules are all interconnected and affect the end result.

ENDS

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