The Government has outlined its plan to address the country's housing crisis through the Going for Housing Growth programme. Key targets include "live-zoning" 30 years of housing demand, enabling cities to expand and strengthening density requirements in urban development.
The programme consists of three pillars: Pillar One, which aims to remove unnecessary planning barriers; Pillar Two, focusing on improving infrastructure funding and financing; and Pillar Three, providing incentives for communities and councils to support growth.
Under Pillar One, changes are expected to be implemented by 2027, allowing cities to expand and more housing to be built. The Government will consult on these changes later this year.
The second pillar focuses on improving infrastructure funding and financing. Five key changes have been announced, including the replacement of Development Contributions with a Development Levy System. These changes aim to create a flexible funding system to match New Zealand's planning system.
Pillar Three involves officials working to implement changes that will provide incentives for communities and councils to support growth. Further details on this pillar are expected later this year.
The Government has also announced plans to remove LUC-3 land from the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land, which is intended to protect New Zealand's highly productive soils but has been deemed too restrictive. This move will open up land equivalent to the size of the Waikato region for housing development.
Additionally, a Greenfield Model has been introduced, providing finance to developers to enable more medium-sized greenfield developments. The model involves NIFFCo lending money at a competitive interest rate during the development phase, which is then refinanced by private markets once the project is complete.
The Government's commitment to addressing the housing crisis and growing New Zealand's cities is clear. While significant challenges lie ahead, these initiatives aim to provide a much-needed boost to the country's housing supply.