Nelson and Tasman residents will soon have an opportunity to suggest sites for future housing and business development in our regions as part of the public engagement process for the 2021 – 51 Future Development Strategy (FDS).

Public engagement on the new FDS is underway now and will run until 26 October. Due to COVID19 restrictions, this engagement round will be held remotely with information available online and via interactive Zoom information sessions.

The FDS is a joint undertaking between Tasman District Council and Nelson City Council that will set out where and how residential and business growth in the region will occur over the next 30 years. It will replace the current Nelson Tasman Future Development Strategy 2019 that was adopted in July 2019.

This stage of the process involves initial stakeholder and online community engagement where staff will provide an overview of the project and seek feedback on some key questions.

Both councils have scheduled webinars to inform residents and outline the process and objectives of the FDS.

Webinars for Tasman residents will be held on the following dates;

- Monday 11 October, 6.00pm – 7.30pm

- Wednesday 13 October, 3.30pm – 5.00pm

Webinars for Nelson residents are at the following times:

- Friday 15 October 2021, 6pm – 7:30pm

- Monday 18 October 2021, 1pm – 2:30pm

To take part in the Nelson webinar email

FutureDevelopmentStrategy@ncc.govt.nz

.

Alternatively, people who want to suggest areas for development, but cannot attend one of the webinars, can fill in the form at:

shape.nelson.govt.nz/future-development-strategy

.

The areas for discussion and community feedback include:

- developing strategic outcomes,

- opportunities for development,

- constraints, and

- how the Councils will assess potential sites.

Once community engagement has been completed, staff from both Councils will work on a draft FDS that will go out for full public consultation in Autumn 2022.

“Despite the difficult circumstances we’re currently facing around COVID, we've had a good level of engagement so far and we hope this continues for the remainder of the project,” Tasman District Council growth coordinator Jacqui Deans said.

Tasman Mayor Tim King said the Future Development Strategy was an essential part of preparing the region for the expected growth. He encouraged people to contribute or get involved through the public engagement opportunities.

"More people are coming to appreciate the benefits of living in the top of the south – to enjoy the outdoors, raising a family or taking up the economic opportunities available.

"Our population is expected to increase in the years ahead, so we want to be sure that our communities are ready to meet this demand while retaining the unique surroundings and character that bring so many here.”

Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese said the strategy is important as Nelson-Tasman will see population growth alongside changing business trends in the coming years.

“We need to ensure that development opportunities exist in the right places and for the right uses. The Future Development Strategy offers our communities an opportunity to shape future housing and business development.”

Future development strategies are a requirement for fast-growing towns and cities set out in the Government’s National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS UD), the latest of which came into effect in 2020.

The new FDS will:

- promote long-term strategic planning by setting out how well-functioning environments will be achieved;

- provide at least sufficient development capacity (for housing and business) over the next 30 years;

- assist with integrating planning decisions with infrastructure funding and decisions;

- spatially identify where development capacity will be provided and what infrastructure is required to support the capacity;

- provide a statement of hapu and iwi values and aspirations.

The 2019 FDS will form a starting point, but all the sites currently identified for future growth will need to be reassessed under the new requirements of the NPS UD.

Nelson and Tasman councils are working together to develop a draft strategy with the aim of releasing it for public consultation in March/April 2022.

More information on the FDS can be found at

www.tasman.govt.nz/fds

or at

shape.nelson.govt.nz/future-development-strategy.

Alternatively, you can email

futuredevelopmentstrategy@tasman.govt.nz

(Tasman) or

futuredevelopmentstrategy@ncc.govt.nz

(Nelson).

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