A key milestone in New Zealand planning history was reached on 22 July when the Independent Hearings Panel delivered the reports containing its recommendations on the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.
Judge David Kirkpatrick, chair of the panel, delivered the recommendations to Auckland Council Chief Executive Stephen Town just after 4pm on 22 July.
Listening to Aucklanders
The panel’s recommendations – setting out the changes the panel considers should be made to the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan – take into account 13,000 public submissions, 10,000 pieces of evidence and 249 days of hearings over the past two years.
Judge Kirkpatrick says the panel’s purpose was to hear the many voices of Aucklanders who submitted on the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan and recommend a plan that would serve Auckland well as it faces the challenges of the next 10 years and beyond.
“I would like to acknowledge the thousands of people, from council, government agencies, large organisations to community groups and homeowners throughout Auckland who have participated in this important process – without their time, dedication and effort, none of this would have been possible,” says Judge Kirkpatrick.
Council to review recommendations
Council staff will now set about gaining an understanding of the reports and recommendations before presenting the information to councillors and the public on 27 July 2016.
Decisions on the panel’s recommendations will be made by the council in meetings open to the public from 10 to 18 August. The council’s decisions will be publicly notified on 19 August.
Next steps
27 July
Councillors will be briefed on the panel’s recommendations and in the afternoon the media and public will be able to view all of the information provided by the Panel on the Council website.
10-18 August
The council will make its decisions on the Auckland Unitary Plan.
Decisions and the decision-making process on the Auckland Unitary Plan will be fully transparent with the council’s decisions being made in meetings open to the public. These meetings will be available for viewing on the council's live streaming service.
19 August
The council’s decisions will be publicly notified on the Auckland Council website.
