Government sets the bar for Auckland Unitary Plan with urban planning directive

Government sets the bar for Auckland Unitary Plan with urban planning directive
Pattrick Smellie
By Pattrick Smellie June 2 (BusinessDesk) - Housing Minister Nick Smith has unveiled the government's biggest weapon yet in its attempts to solve Auckland housing unaffordability, with a National Policy Statement that lets it force local councils into making enough affordable land available for housing and business development. The NPS, first promised in National's 2008 election manifesto, "is about a culture change to support development that connects planning decisions to economics," said Smith in a statement accompanying the draft NPS,...