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Bayleys Research


WAITAKERE CITY PROPERTY FOCUS 2006

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A GROWING CITY

Waitakare is New Zealand’s fifth largest city. Located in the west of the Auckland region it has a total land area of 36,700 ha2. In comparison with national figures, the Waitakere population is growing at a faster rate, is relatively young and affluent.

Between the 1996 and 2001 Census the population grew by 13%, to 176,200, compared with the national average of 3.3%. Statistics New Zealand is forecasting a resident population of 238,300 by 2021.

The Waitakere economy has performed well in recent years with annual growth averaging 4% per annum over the last decade. Business numbers have increased from 7,710 in 1994 to 13,081 in 2004, while people employed in the city has grown from 34,821 to 45,828 over the same period.

However, this growth has presented the city with a number of challenges. Of its total area only 8,192 ha falls within the Metropolitan Urban Limit (MUL), with the balance comprising the Waitakere ranges and land zoned for rural use. This has led to an increasing shortage of land for residential, commercial and industrial development and a sharp increase in land values.

While in percentage terms employment growth has kept apace with that of the population, approximately 31% between 1994 and 2004, in absolute terms the gap between the two has grown. While the Waitakere population accounts for 15% of the Auckland region, the city provides only 8% of the jobs resulting in an estimated 60% of the working population leaving the city on a daily basis. This daily migration of residents inhibits economic growth, reduces disposable income and congests the infrastructure which impedes business flow in and out of the city.

With a view to alleviating these problems, WaitakereCity aims to sustain 75,000 Full Time Equivalents (FTES) by 2016. This will require better utilisation of existing working land and development of vacant land that lies within the existing MUL, and rezoning of land outside the current limits. With this in mind, Waitakere City Council has proposed some major district plan changes under the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Act 2004.

 

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