Pokeno Planning Culminates in Proposed Plan Change 24

Franklin District Council yesterday adopted Proposed Plan Change 24 for the Pokeno area. Council is expecting to publicly notify the plan change next week to seek community views. As it is the Christmas period, Council will extend the required notification time from four weeks to nine weeks. This extension will give all those wishing to submit an opportunity to do so.

The Plan Change notification follows two public information days and several workshops with the community over the last few years as Council and land owners completed all the necessary work of putting the plan change together. It comes almost exactly a year after Council and the Pokeno Landowners Consortium (PLC) signed an agreement to work together towards the best planning solutions for growing Pokeno.

Proposed Plan Change 24 provides for the development of a compact and contained town. It extends the current zones and introduces new areas for residential, commercial, industrial and recreation activities in Pokeno, together will proposed new methods to manage this growth and development.
“Over the last year, Council staff and PLC have prepared about 26 supporting technical documents and the Pokeno Structure Plan to ensure a strong vision underpins any growth in Pokeno. However, as structure plans have no legislative weight, a change to the Operative Franklin District Plan is required to make sure that this work can be realised,” says Franklin District Council Mayor, Mark Ball.

“This is the first significant step in implementing our District Growth Strategy, which defines where new growth will be accommodated in Franklin. The District Growth Strategy indicates that Pokeno is planned to grow to 2,500 residents by 2021 and to a total of over 5,000 by 2051.”

PLC spokesman Kerry Dines says adoption of the proposed Public Plan Change is a significant Council led milestone in its public private partnership with the consortium. “The proposed plan change will provide the regulatory framework to generate economic activity in Pokeno which will benefit the District at large,” says Mr Dines.

Proposed Plan Change 24 and a submission form can be found at Franklin District Council Offices and on their website, www.franklin.govt.nz, after notification. Anyone is welcome to submit and Council encourages you to have your say. Council will appoint independent commissioners to hear all submissions and assess the plan change next year.