Te Ara ō Whakatū halftime report — answering your most common questions

Now halfway through the submission process, Nelson City Council would like to thank everyone who has submitted so far on Te Ara ō Whakatū – the Draft City Centre Spatial Plan. Your feedback is important and will help guide the development of the finalised plan for Nelson’s city centre.

Some of the submissions we have received include questions about the plan, so we have rounded up a few of the most common questions we have seen and answered them below.

Q: I support the vision but have concerns about the paving, seating, water feature, and/or other details I see. Do the concepts depicted in the images and video represent actual final designs?

The images shown with the Plan are simply meant to convey what is possible for the city. While made to scale they are not in any way exact or final designs. Any future designs will need to go through the usual council processes for development.
 
Think of these concept images as the first stage in a home renovation.
 
Before undertaking the renovation, you would collect information, determine a budget and understand what might be possible for your home. 
 
Perhaps you would find inspiration from other homes you have seen in magazines or in person and use that inspiration to visually plan your new home.
 
You would then work with a draughtsman, architect or builder to draw up professional concepts showing the possibilities for your home.
 
All of this would typically be undertaken before you make any final detailed design plans or pick up a brush or hammer.
 
This is where we are with Te Ara ō Whakatū — we are asking you to imagine with us what is possible for the city and share what inspires you.

Q: Why do we have to wait 30 years - can't we make changes sooner?
 
Te Ara ō Whakatū sets out a long-term vision for Nelson. However, this doesn’t mean we have to wait 30 years before getting started.
 
If the plan is approved by Council after receiving your feedback, work could begin as early as next year and continue over the next few years as funding becomes available.
 
Setting the vision for this longer timeframe allows us all to think of the future and be inspired about the kind of city we want to live in and leave behind for the next generation.
 
Q: I’m concerned about social housing in the city centre. How will Te Ara ō Whakatū give me confidence we can create a great city centre outcome that includes social housing? 

With consultation also open on the proposed sale of Council-owned land to Kāinga Ora for housing development, we’ve noticed some concerns about social housing in the city centre.

Final designs will be created further down the track, but Council’s agreement with Kāinga Ora would ensure high-quality, mixed use developments that cater to the needs of a wide variety of people.

Similar fears arose for a low-cost housing project in The Brook, which is now part of a harmonious and thriving community.

The people who may live here could be your friends and neighbours. They might work at your children’s school, the hospital, or your favourite café. They might be a former refugee family, resettling to make a new start. They might be a young professional couple at the beginning of their careers. They might be someone who has fallen on hard times, or someone downsizing to a flat that is easier to maintain.
 
These proposed developments would also reserve space for commercial and community use at the ground level, further adding to the businesses and attractions our city centre has to offer, while ensuring the people who might live there are connected and integrated with the wider community.
 
If you’d like to submit on what we are proposing for the future development of our city, please visit shape.nelson.govt.nz and search ‘Te Ara’. Submissions close Friday 24 September.

To give feedback on the Kāinga Ora proposal visit shape.nelson.govt.nz and search ‘Kāinga’.
 
If you have questions about the Plan or want to learn more about a project, you can contact us by calling 03 546 0200 and asking to speak to the City Centre Development Team or emailing submissions@ncc.govt.nz.