Hutt City Council has today released its proposed change to the District Plan that will allow for higher and denser housing across Lower Hutt, as required under new government rules.

The proposed plan change is open for public submissions until 20 September. This feedback will be considered by an independent panel at a public hearing in the first half of next year.

Full details, zone maps and how to make a submission are at hutt.city/PC56 from 18 August.

The new government rules aim to increase housing supply and affordability across Lower Hutt and other main centres by loosening current rules on development.

Council may only limit the government’s new rules in specific circumstances and has identified those areas as being at risk from natural hazards, heritage areas, or sites of significance to Māori.

Hutt City Council Interim Director Environment & Sustainability Alison Geddes said that although the key changes to the housing rules are mandated by the legislation, the public is invited to have a say on some of the rules.

"While we all accept that housing supply and quality are major challenges for our city and that we need to provide more housing for our growing population, we recognise that the government’s directive to give effect to intensification is a blunt tool, and submitted on this at the time," she said.

Hutt City Council opposed the legislation and instead requested that the rules be applied only to councils that had not substantively progressed intensification plans in their cities to meet projected housing needs.

"We’ve worked to include earlier feedback from the public and Mana Whenua into the proposed changes and I encourage residents to get involved and have their say by 20 September," Alison Geddes said.

A letter outlining the proposed changes and how to have your say will be arriving in urban residential and business letterboxes over the coming week.

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