Napier’s District Plan is about your home

Your home is more than just your house, it’s your backyard, your neighbourhood, your local park. 

Your sense of home includes your commute to the shops and to work, the spaces you spend time in with your friends, and how your culture and stories are reflected in the places you love. How you feel about your home takes in how the environment is treated and protected, the amenities available to you, the balance between residential, business and open spaces, and the links to other neighbourhoods nearby.

We are considering all of these things at the moment as we consult with the community on our proposed District Plan. We’re asking people what they would like to see in their home; in the Napier of the future. 

The District Plan is a rule book for our city. It weighs up and considers multiple perspectives, which are interconnected and complex. It impacts how we live, the decisions we make, and the direction we’ll take over the next ten years. It protects what we value most. It proposes answers to some tricky questions: how can we ensure we’re resilient, and how can we provide for growth?  

Our District Plan looks closely at six pillars, which together will frame the way Napier grows, evolves and adapts over the next ten years.

1. Inner City living is something we believe we can encourage and support in Napier. This could help with the housing issues felt across the country. It could improve city vibrancy, especially our night-life. It could be a wonderful solution for people who want to live close to work, or want to cycle or walk as their primary mode of transport.
    
2. We also want to improve our urban spaces so there’s even more reason to be proud of our neighbourhoods and their special characters. Making our neighbourhoods work well means we need to have places to meet, places that are safe, good walking and cycle ways, nature and green space, and a range of good quality housing.
   
3. We have so many unique landmarks in our built environment. The Art Deco heritage in Napier City is one of the many reasons visitors put our city high on their must-visit list. These are also among the features that give our locals a sense of place. They are familiar, iconic and truly ours. We must protect them, and we’re also always looking at ways to make the most of them and show them off to New Zealand and the world.
   
4. We want to make sure Napier and Hastings are working together when it comes to making sensible decisions about which industry is best suited where, so we don’t double up and so we don’t miss out on great opportunities for our region.
   
5. We need to face some hard truths too in terms of future growth. Napier is a popular place to be and we need to accommodate growth, so we are allowing higher density around our central business district and commercial areas. We also need to explore greenfield growth in the hills above Taradale. Equally, we must make sure we look after our environment and our natural beauty. 
   
6. An opportunity to make a big difference to the protection of our environment is the establishment of a regional park at Te Whanganui a Orotu. The estuary is a significant site nationally for wildlife. It acts as a filter for stormwater before it enters the sea. It is a taonga with cultural, social and heritage importance. It’s unique to Napier and something we must protect to ensure it remains healthy for generations to come.

We’ve been through some big years, but the knocks and shocks have strengthened our commitment to solidify who we are and what we want for Napier in the future.

We want people to come here, as visitors and new residents. We want businesses to move here and become part of our region. We want to protect our environment. And we want those who live here to love it and everything about it, and to be proud to call Napier “home”.

Photo supplied.