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Christel Yardley / Stuff
Hamilton’s current population of 172,000 is predicted to increase to about 200,000 by 2030.
Political leaders have adopted a roadmap for how Hamilton and its neighbors can grow and prosper in the coming decades, though questions remain about who will fund it.
The Hamilton-Waikato metropolitan spatial plan presents a vision of how Hamilton and the surrounding districts of Waikato and Waipā will develop over the next 100 years.
The plan challenges city councils to look beyond their own limits when making key investment decisions and is based on a scenario where the area’s population doubles to 500,000.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said the plan is a “fabulous directional determinant” for what is a rapidly growing area.
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Yet despite its emphasis on cooperation and partnership, the space plan is not a stepping stone toward the council’s merger, Southgate said.
Christel Yardley / Stuff
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said taxpayers will benefit from Hamilton and the neighboring districts of Waipā and Waikato working together (file photo).
“The merger has not been part of the conservation of either party in this, it is simply a matter of showing that the local government can work together. It’s not about amalgamation, it’s about doing things smarter. “
Without a spatial plan, the region runs the risk of ad hoc development and duplication of councils.
“We would lose the opportunity to share services, to share sports facilities, to help co-finance some of the most important core infrastructure elements. We would just go back to our taxpayers for projects at the local level, ”Southgate said.
Tom Lee / Stuff
Waipā Mayor Jim Mylchreest said careful consideration should be given to how city councils will fund activities arising from the space plan (file photo).
The space plan was adopted Thursday by members of Future Proof, which includes Waikato and Waipa district councils, Hamilton City Council, Waikato Regional Council, Waikato iwi, Waikato DHB and the New Zealand Transportation Agency.
Waipā Mayor Jim Mylchreest said councils will still need to figure out how to fund the activities that emerge from the planning document. The government has made it clear that there is no “bucket of money” available to them.
“In a post-Covid situation … the taxpayer will not be able to fund significantly more,” he said.
In a statement, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said the space plan is an “important milestone” for urban development in New Zealand.
