On a per-capita basis in the past 12 months the city has had the highest number of housing consents issued in New Zealand, outstripping Tauranga, Queenstown and Auckland, Hamilton City Councillor growth and infrastructure committee chairman Dave Macpherson said.
With its population now at 172,000 Hamilton issued 1700 new housing consents.
More growth is coming, with a developer earmarking land right on the city’s northern boundary for another 2400 houses through the Government’s Special Housing Accord.
“People are seeing Hamilton’s opportunity, being equidistant from our two main ports and is still comparatively cheap to buy land in but I think we definitely do not have enough land.”
Only 6ha of industrial zoned land remains within the city boundary while residential land is filling fast to the north and developers are putting pressure on for more land to build on.
Iwi ownership of land through Tainui Holdings in the city exists but Tainui’s preference to lease rather than sell land can limit the appeal for developers.
Macpherson said his council is working with the Waikato and Waipa councils on an Auckland unitary-style plan, aiming to identify key growth areas, including where its high-value soils lie.
“In the last couple of years protection of these soils has been on our conscience more, given the growth we have had.”
The council has 1000ha of Waikato land earmarked for earlier than anticipated absorption into the city limits but is trying to work on maintaining a green doughnut around the city.
“HCC is looking at how we can provide infrastructure like water and wastewater services to growth centres beyond it in Waikato and Waipa without the land necessarily being taken into HCC boundary, to keep that green doughnut there. This keeps that and removes the pressure for HCC to fight for that land.”
The council is also trying to contain growth within city limits by encouraging intensified and infill housing development.
Minimum section size is being reduced from 400 square metres to 250sqm in some areas, with encouragement for duplex and apartment construction.
“We have achieved 59% of consents as infill housing, the highest in the country, and have achieved 55% on average for the past three years. It does still leave that other 40% pressing on the boundary though.”
He expects to see an almost constant urban ribbon from Hamilton north to Ngaruawahia in coming years but doubts it will extend to Auckland, given Waikato’s aim to develop growth towns along that corridor.
Macpherson said a national policy statement protecting high-value soils will be supported by the council. However, it will require more investment in transport infrastructure including rail to counter the loss of access to land on the city boundary.
“We would have to have better connections to towns like Ngaruawahia, at the moment it is car or nothing.”
A rapid rail link from Hamilton to Auckland is due to be tried next March but Macpherson said a link from Cambridge to Auckland is also being seriously considered.
