Urban Development News from the media | 1 April 2025 | New planning laws to end the culture of ‘no’

New planning laws to end the culture of ‘no’

The Government’s new planning legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will make it easier to get things done while protecting the environment, say Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court.

“The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. It makes it too hard to build the infrastructure and houses New Zealand desperately needs, too hard to use our abundant natural resources, and hasn’t resulted in better management of our natural environment,” Mr Bishop says.

“Replacing the RMA with new legislation premised on property rights is critical to the government’s mission of growing the economy and lifting living standards for New Zealanders.

“In our first year in office we repealed Labour’s botched RMA reforms and made a series of quick and targeted amendments to provide relief to our primary sector, such as repealing the permitted and restricted discretionary intensive winter grazing regulations. We also passed the Fast-track Approvals Act to make it much easier to deliver projects with regional or nationally significant benefits. 

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-planning-laws-end-culture-%E2%80%98no%E2%80%99

Reducing debt financing barriers for Community Housing Providers

New Crown lending facilities and a loan guarantee scheme will support the growth of the Community Housing Provider (CHP) sector and put CHPs on a more level playing field with Kāinga Ora, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says.

“This Government believes in social housing. We are working hard to deliver better housing to those who need support, including by assisting the CHP sector to expand and grow.

“Currently, CHPs account for 16 percent of our social homes – around 13,000 houses. The government has funded an additional 1,500 social houses in Budget 2024, 1,000 of which are to be delivered by CHPs from June this year.

“Our ambition for the social housing system is for a level playing field between CHPs and Kāinga Ora. The underlying ownership of a house – whether public or private – should be irrelevant. What matters is the provision of warm, dry homes to those who need them, along with social support if required.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/reducing-debt-financing-barriers-community-housing-providers

Game on for a connected stadium network

Aucklanders have greater clarity on the steps to take towards a connected stadium network for the region after today’s Governing Body.

At its meeting on Thursday, the Governing Body considered two feasibility studies on potential stadium options, put forward by external parties, before it endorsed in principle a staged redevelopment of Eden Park, noting the council has no plans to provide ratepayer funding for it.

A report prepared for the council by officials, reviewed the feasibility studies from Eden Park Trust and Te Tōangaroa/Quay Park Consortium.

Councillors recommended Eden Park as the most feasible option for Auckland’s main stadium, alongside a proposal to adopt a new Auckland Regional Stadium Investment Framework to guide how the region invests $150 million (operating and maintenance costs) in the existing stadium network.

“We got a heap of new main stadium ideas in 2023, so I asked for a proper look at what was feasible, which led to a more structured approach for evaluating the relative merits of these big assets,” says Mayor Brown.

https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2025/03/game-on-for-a-connected-stadium-network/

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