Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

Reading my papers for an upcoming SmartGrowth meeting, I reflected what a critical piece of work this is for us here in the Western Bay of Plenty.

SmartGrowth is a long-term growth management strategy which integrates planning for population growth with land use and transport planning. It was developed collaboratively through a partnership between Tauranga City Council, Western Bay District Council, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and tangata whenua. While it has had its challenges, it has delivered huge dividends since it was first developed in 2004.

Its value has been recognised by central government and now this planning process – renamed spatial planning – has been made mandatory for Auckland and may be rolled out across the country on a regional basis.
A lot has changed in the Western Bay since SmartGrowth was developed. There have been many positives, for example, our transport infrastructure has been greatly enhanced.

But we are facing significant headwinds. The global financial crisis has had an impact, growth has slowed and projected income from development contributions has dropped. Our local authorities are facing very tight fiscal conditions resulting in severe belt-tightening. Consumer resistance to planned intensification means we need to relook at the proposed settlement patterns. Psa is causing uncertainty about land-use and our economy going forward. The Rena and the Canterbury earthquake remind us we need to be able to respond quickly when the game changes completely.

There will need to be a lot of work, community input and hard choices before we sign off a revised SmartGrowth strategy.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please phone 07 579 5150, email neesj@xtra.co.nz or visit www.janenees.co.nz