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WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS October/November 2016 3
Mayor’s dramatic
housing plan for city
There will be a building boom in Hamilton’s
south, Hamilton planning rules will be
loosened and the CBD Association’s future
will be uncertain if Andrew King’s luck
holds.
By GEOFF TAYLOR
But the new mayor is
frank about the fact
that he’s “not hanging
on to the job tightly”
while the recount requested
by second placegetter Paula
Southgate takes place.
“(In the meantime) I’ll
continue with the job and
get things moving and bring
everything together.”
Mr King is presently
acquainting himself with his
new council and developing
a committee structure for the
upcoming term.
And if his mayoralty is
confirmed he has big plans.
Mayor King says the council
has failed to ensure there
are enough sections for housing
in the city. He intends to
change that by opening up
more areas for development
which will create competition
in the market and regulate
price.
With the council’s support,
this will include dramatically
fast-tracking the Peacocke
subdivision – stages 1 and
2, south of Dixon Rd, the
equivalent of another 9000
sections. To pay the huge
infrastructural costs associated
with opening up Peacocke,
Mr King wants the council
to borrow $200 million from
the Government’s $1 billion
infrastructure fund. Loans
would need to be paid back
within 10 years through $30k
development fees from each
section.
“We need to move fast.
We need to grab $200m now
which is what it will probably
cost. It’s an interest free loan
for only 10 years so we need
sections under way within
that time so we can pay it
back. So we want to bring the
whole of Peacocke forward as
fast as we can.”
Mr King said parts of the
south of Hamilton have high
levels of social deprivation
while there are schools that
are half empty. Opening up
Peacocke will bring in money,
young families and provide a
better balance to the city.
He is also adamant that if
Andrew King is getting on with the job.
his election stands he wants
to have a team go through the
“restrictive” District Plan so
there are fewer rules and it is
less complex to follow.
“At the moment if you
want to do something you
need a planner, a lawyer, there
are all sorts of costs to do
almost anything and I believe
that’s too restrictive. It creates
uncertainty - not just for
the developer but for the person
who lives next door who’s
trying to decide whether the
developer is able to do what
they want to do.”
“Even the council has to
run off to lawyers to get opinions
about what’s legal and
what’s not and you shouldn’t
need to do that.”
He says rejigging the
District Plan won’t be a
“quick fix” but having fewer
rules will make it quicker
and more affordable to do
business.
The mayor has been open
in the past about his views on
the CBD Association’s performance
in rejuvenating the
CBD, describing the organisation
as a puppet of the council.
There is some support for
the creation of a more powerful
CBD Board with more
wide-ranging powers. The
mayor wants to commission
a report on the best way to
advance the central city. His
efforts to commission such
a report last term were constantly
thwarted by the last
council. That is unlikely to
happen if he remains mayor.
“I’m not saying we go
away from what we have, I
just want to see the choices
that we have available,” he
says.
The mayor also has concerns
about the Hamilton
River Plan. His major issue
is the fact that the architect’s
plan allows for construction
of apartments on reserve land
near Ferrybank. He says he
doesn’t think the public realises
it is actually commercial
activity on that site. He
doesn’t mind restaurants or
museums on reserve land but
doesn’t think someone should
make a profit from expensive
apartments. But other than
his reservations about cost he
indicates that there is room
for compromise on the plan.
Is this business community
behind him as mayor?
“I don’t know. I presume
they are.
“I imagine the business
community is very aware that
I’ve been in business for a
long time and I understand
that a city is built by businesses
largely, they are the ones
that risk everything.”
Mr King was in a minority
on Julie Hardaker’s
council last term but denies
there is any bad blood carried
over to the new council.
But expect others who
were also on the outer such
as Dave Macpherson, Martin
Gallagher and Garry Mallett
to be given more responsibility
this time around.
“We have some of the most
seasoned politicians this city
has had with a huge amount
of knowledge and I want to
harness that knowledge by
empowering them and pulling
the rest of the council in.
If we do that, the city will
prosper.”
Andrew King was holding a lead
of nine votes in the mayoral race
at time of publication.
Introducing Hayley Willers
Hayley Willers
Associate
LL.B
DDI: 07 834 7712
M: 021 113 5680
hayley@dtilawyers.co.nz
Hayley is an experienced property lawyer who deals
with a wide range of private and commercial property
matters including but not limited to residential and rural
conveyancing, subdivisions, refinancing, retirement
villages, relationship property, trusts, wills and enduring
powers of attorney.
She has a broad background in all aspects of property
law, acting for small/medium businesses, local
government, public sector and private clients.
www.dtilawyers.co.nz | Level 6, 127 Alexandra Street | P O Box 9198, Hamilton 3240 | +64 7 282 0174
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