Community Spatial Plan | Pae Tawhiti Rangitīkei Beyond

Our Community Spatial Plan, Pae Tawhiti Rangitīkei Beyond, is the document that sets the blueprint for how our communities will grow over the next 30 years. It identifies what the Rangitīkei community thinks is important for future growth and outlines the community’s visions, our key priorities, and the actions we can take to help our district grow. Part of this includes assessing the amount of land needed for our expected population growth.

The Rangitīkei District is growing, and we are planning to reach a population of 25,000 people by 2050 - almost 9,000 more people than live here today. As our district grows, we need to make sure we have the right spaces, land and infrastructure to accommodate new homes and businesses as they put roots down in Rangitīkei.

Launching this project in 2021, we spent time researching the district and understanding where our district has potential for growth.

In 2022, we undertook community engagement, asking Rangitīkei residents questions about their vision for our future. Based on the feedback we received, we identified key themes that are important to our communities when considering future growth.

In March 2023 Council released the draft Community Spatial Plan, Pae Tawhiti Rangitīkei Beyond, for public consultation, during which time the Rangitīkei community was invited to make a submission on the proposed plan. The feedback we receive from the public during the consultation period will then be considered for the final Community Spatial Plan document.

Work will start now on implementing the document. A key part of this is developing changes to the District Plan, which will include rezoning land for future growth.

The Community Spatial Plan, Pae Tawhiti Rangitīkei Beyond, sets out the vision, key themes and actions for the future, for our communities across the Rangitīkei. The Plan will mean different things for different communities as each community has different priorities. Some areas may grow, while others will stay much the same.

We are planning to focus our growth across five key towns: Taihape, Marton, Bulls, Hunterville and Mangaweka. Each town has different areas of focus - some we’re proposing to position as a visitor destination, while others we’re proposing to focus on revitalising town centres, or future-proofing infrastructure.

The Community Spatial Plan, Pae Tawhiti Rangitīkei Beyond, is an aspirational document. It is not guaranteed that all of the projects identified in the document will be funded. Council will decide which actions are developed through long term planning processes and collaboration with implementation partners.

Not all properties will be directly impacted by the draft Community Spatial Plan, Pae Tawhiti Rangitīkei Beyond, however we have tried to capture the aspirations of many of our communities and we hope that all communities in Rangitīkei will see the benefits of improved infrastructure, facilities and amenities.

If your property is identified as being within an area that is high suitability for growth this means that it might be rezoned to allow for future development. This does not mean that your property will be bought by Council, or that you will be required to subdivide.

Over the next 30 years we expect to face several challenges including; the need to adapt to changing technology, to improve our infrastructure and encourage and provide for residential and business growth, and to respond to the ongoing and increasing impacts of a changing climate.

Please contact Katrina Gray, Senior Strategic Planner on katrina.gray@rangitikei.govt.nz or 027 287 3148.

To identify areas suitable for future growth, we mapped out potential growth areas and then conducted a preliminary assessment of how suitable the properties within this area would be for future growth. We considered things like:

• How resilient an area is to natural hazards such as flooding or climate change

• How close an area is to amenities like parks, schools, and towns

• How accessible an area is to key transport networks

• How the area will be impacted by the Three Waters infrastructure (stormwater, wastewater, drinking water)

• Whether the area holds any cultural significance

• Whether the area holds any environmental significance

• Whether the land has fertile or productive soil for farming and agriculture

• If the area is contaminated

High suitability:

If your property is identified as being located within a high suitability area this means that we will look further into rezoning it to allow for future development. This does not mean that your property will be bought by Council or that you will be required to develop your property.

Moderate suitability:

Moderate suitability means your property is part of a wider growth area that has potential for development, however, has a number of potential limitations that could impact its suitability for growth.

If more land is needed than anticipated, your property could be looked at again in the future as an option for more housing.

Low suitability:

If your property has been identified as low suitability, this means that it is not a feasible area for growth due to constraints such as flooding, topography, or accessibility.

If your property has been identified as a future growth area there is unlikely to be an immediate impact on your rates.

If your property is subsequently identified as an area for rezoning, and is then rezoned, the value of your property may increase, which would increase the rates you pay that are based on capital value.

Property valuations occur every three years and are undertaken independently by Quotable Value Limited.

No. You do not have to sell your property if it is within an identified high suitability growth area.

No. If you do not want to subdivide or build houses on a property that is in an identified high suitability growth area, you will not be required to.

No. Council will not purchase or take land for housing.

There are a range of criteria used to assess potential growth areas. The wider area your property is located within is likely to have significant constraints, (e.g. flooding, topography, accessibility) that means the area has low suitability as a growth area.

The key themes and actions identified in the draft Community Spatial Plan, Pae Tawhiti Rangitīkei Beyond, are only an indication of where our community wants us to focus our resources over the next thirty years. They are not confirmed projects, and will depend on funding allocated during the revision of our Long Term Plan which is reviewed every three years. The next Long Term Plan will be released in 2024.

In 2022 we undertook community engagement where we identified key themes that are important to the Rangitīkei community when considering future growth. During this engagement period we received over 200 survey responses, had over 350 comments left on an interactive map, held meetings with local schools, attended the Youth Council meeting and community committee meetings.

We also conducted a business survey to understand growth needs and had conversations directly with landowners in areas that have been assessed for their potential for future growth.