Update December 2009
The proposed changes to the District Plan (plan change 72) have highlighted outer suburban areas like Kilbirnie and Johnsonville as areas of change that will allow more intensive housing to go hand in hand with the growth in commercial development in these areas.
To quote from the Residential Review on the Wellington City Council website, ” The residential ‘Areas of Change’ are tightly defined residential areas where high quality medium density housing will be actively encouraged. These areas are located surrounding the existing town centres of Johnsonville and Kilbirnie where the benefits of higher density residential development will be greatest. Intensification within these areas will allow efficient use of existing infrastructure, support existing services and facilities, and allow people to live close to jobs and close to public transport. Within Areas of Change comprehensive redevelopment of housing will be encouraged and facilitated. This will result in significant increases in the residential density of these areas, and is likely to lead to changes to the existing character. The success of the Areas of Change will depend on achieving high quality housing stock and associated spaces (both public and private).
Within the Areas of Change, the Plan seeks to achieve:
# Medium to high density residential development
# High levels of amenity for occupants of new residential developments
# High quality development, both in terms of building design and townscape character
# Variety in the built form (including variation in style, type and scale of buildings)
# Variety in household type (1, 2, 3, and 3+ bedroom units)
# Appropriate levels of protection for neighbouring property’s amenity
It is anticipated that these areas will eventually have a more intensive, urban feel. There are opportunities for canny investors who have the vision and the cash to buy into these proposed areas right now. Plan changes will change the values of the properties within the “Areas of Change” with relaxed coverage rules allowing much more intensive housing to be built.
There has been a bit of a “who har” in the last week with all of the local papers giving front page coverage to the voices for and against the changes. Opponents of the changes suggest that the urbanisation of Johnsonville will create a ghetto in 20 years time. This last gasp by the status quo-ers has come at the very end of a long winded consultation process that began in 2006. Local MP’s have also joined the band wagon with Peter Dunne and Charles Chauvel obviously seeing opportunities for self promotion in the melee, and have come forward to raise their voices for yet more consultation and round table foot stamping.
As a business person who has worked in Johnsonville for almost 20 years, I have seen the likes of Porirua and Lower Hutt push ahead and modernise themselves to provide amenity for the population of Wellington, while Johnsonville (and Tawa) have been left behind. It is time that Johnsonville got on with the job of growing up. I don’t want to have to drive to Porirua to find more retail variety. I am tired of parking in potholed carparks and working amongst the worn and jaded hodgepodge of buildings that represent our local CBD. I want more choice of restaurants and cafes, and would love to be able to go into Johnsonville to see a movie with the family instead of driving to town, driving around and around parking buildings to get to a free space, then feeding overpriced parking meters.
Go Andy Foster I say!
Bring on managed, sustainable growth in the Suburban Centres to match the obvious growth in population that has already taken place with myriads of houses added to the newer subdivisions of Woodridge, Bellevue, Churton Park, and Hunters Hill in the last 10 years. It is time for change and time for growth. It is time that Johnsonville (and Newlands) were allowed to grow up and provide for themselves instead of feeding off the Wellington city centre, Thorndon, and Porirua.
written by David Garratt Dec 2009
This intensive housing is all and good but what of the infrastructure for extra trains and buses, schools, libraries, roads and traffic in the Johnsonville area. The main road in Johnsonville is such a bottle neck with extra car traffic it will be impossible to get through.
Is the ‘medium-high density housing’ going to be monitored as to the quality of the structures? Or will we end up with a suburb with low cost apartments for the same socio economic group living in the area which ends up bringing the existing property values down? Everyone needs good housing but do we need it in one area surely it should be spread out over all suburbs.
You raise some good points Christine. The Council process has been a drawn out one partially because of the need to get the traffic flows enhanced/corrected around Johnsonville especially as the area continues to grow. As a homeowner and business owner in the area for more than a decade, I agree the traffic bottle necks down the main road at peak times are annoying, but I think this is mainly because of the two pedestrian crossings and the set of lights. Overbridges or a couple of pedestrian tunnels would sort much of this out in the short – medium term.
I sure hope that the medium/high density apartment quality will be monitored by the Council. I don’t think the apartments built will be Council flat/ tenement style accommodation, most of the land affected is held privately and the land is too expensive not to maximize the return to owners/developers. In the market place, there is definitely demand for this style of accommodation both by young executive couples and the growing aged population who want to be a short walk to the shops but have little or no options currently. I believe it will add to the vibrancy of the suburb, especially at its heart, to have people living in the CBD area as Johnsonville continues to grow. There is also a need for the retail shopping area to grow outside of the triangle (broderick/moorefield/main road) as small one off retailers struggle with the rents charged by the Mall but lack of retail space outside of the mall owned land keeps rents high and options restricted which then limits the variety and nature of our retail shopping experience.
Johnsonville is unique in its open ended nature with easy access to State Highway One going both North and South, its dedicated railway line, and the potential development of alternative roading options such as the Grenada/ Horokiwi link. Add to this, plentiful easy rolling hillsides ripe for subdivision just North of the Johnsonville town centre and you have the potential for huge population growth over the next ten or so years.
I can get a sense of the Council’s urban planners vision for the area and am excited by the prospect. It will be interesting to see how everything develops.