Alternative Futures
Three alternative futures for the district have been developed at a broad conceptual level. These options have been developed using information and community feedback obtained from the WDC Coastal Management Strategy, the Urban Growth Strategy, the Urban Form Report, the draft Marsden Point/Ruakaka Structure Plan, and the 20/20 Plus CBD Development Plan. The three futures are presented to stimulate debate as to the preferred future settlement pattern for the district over the next 50 years.
The development of the three alternative futures for the Growth Strategy draws together all of the earlier studies listed above. In particular, the three futures build upon the analysis and stakeholder meetings undertaken for the Urban Form Report. The scenarios developed in this report have been distilled into the three broad settlement patterns presented in the Growth Strategy whilst ensuring consistency with the earlier studies, particularly the Coastal Management and Urban Growth Strategies.
Future One represents a lightly regulated, market led approach to development and, in general, reflects land development in the district over the past 10-20 years. It is presented as a continuation of this lightly regulated, largely market driven approach to land development and can be seen as a baseline against which to evaluate the other two options, in addition to an alternative development path in its own right.
Future Three represents a managed, consolidated development path based upon a structured five tier settlement pattern. This hierarchical arrangement is as follows: Whangarei City as the primary district and regional urban centre with a strong, protected and enduring CBD; a satellite town at Marsden Point/Ruakaka which complements (but does not compete with) Whangarei City; five urban villages within greater Whangarei; one rural (Hikurangi) and two coastal growth nodes at Parua Bay and Waipu; and two rural villages along with eight coastal villages located along the coastline from Waipu Cove in the south to Oakura in the north.
Futures Two is an intermediate position between Futures One and Three. It represents a moderately controlled, less consolidated development path based upon a three tier settlement pattern. These tiers consist of: twin cities at Whangarei and Marsden Point/Ruakaka competing with each other for higher level service provision; urban and coastal settlements with some associated urban sprawl and ribbon development; and rural urban development largely at village level with some sporadic development throughout the rural area.
Following feedback from the community, the three alternative futures will be assessed using a range of criteria within a sustainable development framework, including sustainable economy and infrastructure, sustainable environment, sustainable society and sustainable culture. Constraints upon, and consequences of, each scenario will be analysed and reported back to the community for further comment. Finally, a preferred option – a Sustainable Future – will be chosen and used to provide a broad conceptual development path around which further detailed analysis can be conducted.
The preferred future is not an end in itself – rather it should be looked at as a general framework for more detailed work and as a framework around which we can obtain input on the community’s vision for the district over the next 50 years, the important issues facing the district, which broad settlement pattern the community prefers over the long term, and any other input the community may have regarding development of the district over the next 50 years.
Sustainable
