The Waikato region is a dynamic region with increasing and changing demands on its natural and physical resources. Some of the key growth and development pressures are:
- rapidly increasing population in parts of the region
- spreading urban areas and rural residential development
- increasing demand (including from the Auckland region) for services such as landfills, water supply, prisons and quarries
- land use change such as conversions of forests to dairy farms
- increasing freight and passenger transport on roads
- increasing demand for the region’s energy resources and infrastructure
- increasing coastal development.
What is Environment Waikato doing about growth and development pressures?
Environment Waikato is carefully considering how to respond to growth and develop pressures at present. We are actively involved in several growth-related projects, including our Strategy for a Sustainable Environment and some of the growth strategies currently being developed by district councils.
Strategy for a sustainable environment
Growth and development are important for the region, but we need to think carefully about the ways in which this happens. It is important to keep tracking the pressures that arise, especially as they increase and change. We also need to consider how we should respond to the environmental effects of growth and development. The Strategy for a Sustainable Environment project (SSE) is Environment Waikato's way of ensuring this happens in a coherent way.
The SSE project involves:
• gaining an understanding of what drives changes to land use and resource use
• getting a clear picture of how land use and resource use in the region is currently changing
• predicting the kinds of changes that could occur in the next 50 years
• anticipating the environmental problems that could result
• defining a set of principles to guide our response to these changes and problems.
The principles that will be developed through this project will guide our thinking as we develop new plans and policies. They will also inform the work we do with territorial authorities and developers over growth issues. Urban growth, agricultural change, energy developments and other resource use will also be influenced by the SSE principles so that it occurs in a more sustainable way.
One of the results of this work has been the document 'Futureproof Growth and Development Issues and Principles', which identifies potential environmental problems that could result from urban, industrial and rural residential growth. It identifies a set of principles to help prevent these problems. Download the document in PDF version below.
Futureproof Growth and Development Issues and Principles
(63 kb, 9 seconds to download, 56k modem)
Growth strategies
Environment Waikato is involved in the development of growth strategies in the region. Growth strategies usually determine where and when residential, industrial and commercial growth should occur. They are powerful ways of directing growth so that environmental problems are minimised.
Environment Waikato is a partner in the development of the following growth strategies:
A number of other districts already have growth strategies, such as Taupo and Franklin Districts. Others are currently developing them. Environment Waikato is involved in the development of these strategies, as well as other territorial authority plans and strategies which manage growth.
Regional planning
The Regional Policy Statement (RPS) is an important document for managing the way we use our natural and physical resources. In this way it has an important role in addressing growth and development issues. The RPS is currently under review. Visit our RPS review page to find out more.
Environment Waikato’s Regional Plan and Regional Coastal Plan provide rules to control resource use activities. These are also often important for managing potential environmental effects from growth and development activities.
Transport planning
Regional growth and development can have adverse effects on transport systems. For example ribbon development along highways can result in the need for slower speed restrictions. Transport infrastructure, such as roads and public transport, is also needed to support new growth and development. Transport planning is a very important function of Environment Waikato. More information about Environment Waikato’s transport planning can be found on the following pages:
The following map shows the key current and future roading projects in the northern Waikato Region. These are large and expensive projects. The New Zealand Transport Agency is increasingly requiring good land use planning before it will release money for such roading projects.
Click on the image to view a larger, high resolution, version.
Environmental indicators
Our environmental indicators provide useful information about the environmental results of growth and development in the region. For example, information can be found on:
Information and advice
We also provide a number of useful documents which can help those who are involved in growth and development activities. For example, the report 'Sustainable Subdivision Development – An Environment Waikato Perspective' has been developed to encourage sustainable subdivision practices in the region. The report provides helpful ideas and advice to district council planners, developers and earthwork contractors about how they can create more environmentally sustainable subdivisions.
Download the document in PDF version below.
Sustainable Subdivison Development - An Environment Waikato Perspective
(1039 kb, 148 seconds to download, 56k modem)
Long Term Council Community Plan
Our Long Term Council Community Plan is also a very important document with respect to regional growth and development. It identifies the community outcomes which the regional community wants to achieve and describes what work we are doing towards these outcomes. It sets out how Environment Waikato is responding to growth and development related issues such as flood hazards, effects on air quality, waste disposal, transport, navigation safety and so on.