As Chair of the Auckland Development Committee as well as Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse is helping to usher through the Unitary Plan to fruition, to bring all parts of Auckland under one cohesive plan following the city amalgamation.

Having received over 9,400 submissions (totalling 93,600 requests) on the Unitary Plan, Auckland Council is preparing to forward all information to the independent hearings panel chaired by David Kirkpatrick. With final decisions being made by September 2016, the new approach is a leap forward from the old district plan process.

Aucklanders want to live in a compact, 21st century city where the city centre is at the heart of what defines it. Housing choices and good urban design will be the benchmarks of the city and with 25% of recent consents being for apartments, Penny is confident we're starting to move in the right direction.  

The Unitary Plan and the Housing Accord will be the tools with which we see Auckland becoming an integrated city where council entities will work with the construction community to action change in the most positive way.