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Focusing growth

Auckland’s southern rural area is made up of a variety of landscapes and resources that support the rest of the region and whole of NZ. Protecting productive soils and avoiding areas with natural hazards ensures that these resources remain valuable assets in the future.

We propose:

• Most growth in the rural south is focused in Drury, Ōpaheke, Pukekohe, and Waiuku
• Moderate growth, mainly residential, is planned in Glenbrook Beach, Clarks Beach, Patumahoe, and Clevedon
• In all other rural settlements only very limited or no growth is anticipated.

1. What do you think about our approach to focus most of growth in the existing rural towns and villages? 

Resilient rural areas and communities

The southern rural area needs to cope with dispersed communities, limited local jobs and services in many locations, and ongoing changes such as the impacts of climate change.

Rural resilience is important for communities and businesses to survive, adapt, and grow even when faced with stresses and shocks. Stresses may develop over time with gradually increasing impacts on communities such as national or global economy changes, supply shortages or degrading environment. Shocks may be sudden with large impacts such as natural disasters, accidents, or sudden disruptions in services or products.

Rural community resilience includes:

• Economy / employment - access to resources and jobs / a diverse rural economy
• Social connectedness – including family and community networks or community events
• Community infrastructure - access to community services and facilities
• Knowledge, skills, and awareness – including emergency preparedness and community safety
• Housing - safe, diverse, and healthy housing.

3. Considering the areas of resilience outlined above, how resilient do you think your local community is?

Efficient and equitable infrastructure

The southern rural area functions as a network of small communities that often depend on services provided by nearby larger towns. Given financial constraints we cannot provide infrastructure everywhere. Therefore, we propose making the best use of infrastructure investments to get the best value and impact.

5. What are the most critical issues that you think should be prioritised in your area?  (select up to 3 options)