“Now we are coming back to our communities to make sure we’ve got it right.”

The draft plan would provide for more than 4000 new homes, including townhouses, duplexes and small apartments, in the centres of Kerikeri and Waipapa as well as 18 hectares of new commercial land.

In addition, it also priorities new infrastructure and waters connection and proposes improvements to the health of waterways and biodiversity, opportunities for new parks, green spaces and investment in recreational and community facilities.

The plan has six potential options. Community groups Our Kerikeri and Vision Kerikeri are urging the public to have their say to ensure there is widespread feedback. Both groups were involved in initial consultation with the council over the plan.

Annika Dickey, from Our Kerikeri, said the spatial plan is a crucial document that will guide where and how the community develops over the next 30 years, as well as the price tag to do it.

“It’s essential that locals take the time to engage … this is their chance to help shape the future of the towns,” Dickey said.

“This spatial plan process has been underway since 2021/22 and Our Kerikeri is glad to see this finally in the final stages.”

However, Vision Kerikeri’s Rolf Muelle-Glodde said while something needs to be done to ease congestion and help the towns grow, more consultation was needed and the group felt the council planners had already ruled out its preferred option – Option F.

Option F, Muelle-Glodde said, included a plan by a private developer to build a link road from Kerikeri to Waipapa and a new access to State Highway 10, at no cost to ratepayers.

“In the spatial plan Option D and E is ranked highest in data received from the public consultation. The number of responses received was only a tiny fraction of the current population of at least 14,000 people.

“Option F is ranked lowest.

“Community groups, each with numbers of members and reasonably well informed, submitted in favour of Option F, but this is not mentioned in the spatial plan – only as a note in the Growth Scenarios Evaluation Report.

“Option F when first submitted for approval by staff to council was omitted entirely and therefore not considered but was included subsequently following dismay expressed by community groups before going out for public consultation in October.”

He said the plan ranks Option F lowest due to comparatively higher infrastructure costs, impacts on highly productive land and environmental constraints.

“This is rather misleading. Option F is not highly productive horticultural land, which the spatial plan seeks to preserve; it is pastoral land.

“Infrastructure costs would be a cost to the developer and because greenfield development is lower cost than piecemeal brown field development the cost of land would be cheaper and more likely to lower the cost of housing that we agree is a significant problem in Kerikeri.”

The Spatial Plan is intended for a 30-year planning horizon; the population is estimated to increase to 24,000 people within 25 years and Options B to E will put more traffic onto Waipapa and Kerikeri Roads, Muelle-Glodde said.

Ackers said the council wants to know whether residents support the plan, if any changes need to be made, and whether they agree with how the council plans to implement it.

“I would strongly encourage each and every person who calls Kerikeri and Waipapa home or spends time here, to have their say on this plan. It will shape not only our future, but that of generations to come.

“We’ll use the feedback we receive on the draft plan to update and refine Te Pātukurea.

“It will then be finalised and presented to councillors for adoption in mid-2025. Once adopted, Te Pātukurea will inform our district-wide spatial plan.”

Submissions are open until April 22.

View the plan and give feedback at www.fndc.govt.nz/spatialplan.

Feedback can also be provided by email – kwsp@fndc.govt.nz – or a submission form at the Kerikeri Customer Service Centre or Procter Library.