WCC District Plan Team Receive Geok Ling Phang Award

The team has met a number of the criteria for the Award, including raising the profile of planning, and its ideals, aims and objectives within Wellington. The plan has also focussed on addressing future needs, particularly for our urban environment, by providing a framework for intensification and change. The team undertook a very open and public process which involved active engagement with agencies, tangata whenua, communities and individuals over several years in developing firstly a spatial plan, then a draft district plan, and finally a proposed plan.

The proposed district plan also had to respond to the evolving requirements of national direction, including requirements of the National Planning Standards, the National Policy Statement for Urban Development and significant changes to the Resource Management Act (the RMA-EHS).

The scale of the planning work involved has been significant and the way it has been carried out, while not satisfying all participants, is commendable.