Property Council launches Residential Development Council

Media Release

8 October 2015

Property Council launches the Residential Development Council

Property Council has launched its residential arm, the Residential Development Council at its Residential Development Summit in Auckland today.

This national organisation is established to highlight the importance of residential development and investment as a key driver of economic growth, employment, prosperous cities, empowered communities and social progress.

The Residential Development Council is a network of qualified and experienced industry experts, who demand sound policies and legislation that address critical issues facing New Zealanders today.

It has five key areas of focus:

1. Better urban planning: establishing a robust planning system that results in fewer delays, more certainty and consistent consenting practices.

2. Less bureaucracy: targeting inconsistent and poorly designed rules and regulations that discourage development.

3. Infrastructure: future-proof investment in national infrastructure via aligned and integrated central and local government strategies.

4. Rigorous data: setting up a comprehensive knowledge base decision makers can use to draw reliable information from during the policy making process.

5. Urban design: ‘good urban design’ that produces high-quality and sustainable communities for New Zealanders, that is also well integrated with adjoining planning rules.

Property Council chief executive Connal Townsend says the need for a residential development and investment advocacy body has never been more apparent.

“The launch of the Residential Development Council comes as the residential sector navigates a maze of convoluted central and local government legislation and regulations that undermine efforts to deliver houses.

“We are here as an advisory body to official decision makers during policy making. We have the commercial know-how, on the ground experience and market intelligence. We are saying consult with us, and help us help you deliver better housing solutions for all New Zealanders.

“We are also a conduit between developers and investors, as our sector lacks significant scale. For cities such as Auckland and its substantial housing shortage, we need investors to help meet the demand.

“Investors offer the capital needed to build on a larger and more viable scale while providing the means to offer alternative forms of tenure and home ownership over time.”

The Residential Development Council represents professionals and stakeholders within the residential property sector under the Property Council umbrella.

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