The government and Auckland Council are setting up a company to source public and private investment together to redevelop the Tamaki area.
The Tāmaki Redevelopment Company will work to transform the area over the next 15-20 years, via social, economic, housing and spatial components, Housing Minister Phil Heatley said.
See the release below from Housing Minister Phil Heatley and Auckland Mayor Len Brown:
Urban redevelopment company to transform Tāmaki
The Government and the Auckland Council signed a Heads of Agreement today to jointly form New Zealand’s first urban redevelopment company to transform Tāmaki (including Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure) in Auckland over the next 15-25 years.
Housing Minister Phil Heatley says that the jointly-owned Tāmaki Redevelopment Company (TRC) will bring together the right public and private partners, the right level of resource, authority and mandate to get results in Tāmaki. Similar companies have been successful internationally.
“The people of the Tāmaki community have told us they are keen to see the Tāmaki Transformation Programme vision that has been developed by the local community, together with central and local government partners during the foundation period, brought to fruition as quickly as possible. The new company will make that happen,” he said.
Work has been going on to examine how to transform Tâmaki into a thriving, prosperous, attractive and self-reliant community.
Auckland Mayor Len Brown welcomes the partnership with Government and says the work in Tāmaki reflects what the council is working to achieve across Auckland through the recently-launched Auckland Plan.
“It is only through initiatives like the transformation of Tāmaki that Auckland can become the world’s most liveable city,” says the Mayor. “The people of Tāmaki have been waiting for this for a long time and this is a great project for the new Auckland to be getting on with. Many thanks are due to those who have contributed to the Tāmaki Transformation project over several years.”
Mr Heatley says that, if successful, this redevelopment programme could be a blueprint for urban renewal elsewhere in the country.
“Successful transformation programmes overseas have brought together the local community, government, business, education, social agencies, developers and financiers in collaboration to achieve a common vision.
“Tāmaki is a key growth area for Auckland and its future prosperity will have a flow-on effect for the rest of the country. The new company will ensure a co-ordinated approach to create measurable improvement across four key components over time.”
A social component will support Tāmaki residents and their families in getting the skills, knowledge and employment opportunities they need. An economic component will strengthen the local economy, creating new jobs and business opportunities.
A housing component will optimise land use and existing housing stock, including progressing private housing development and delivering better social housing options in Tāmaki.
Meanwhile, a spatial component will create safe and connected neighbourhoods and spaces that support the social and economic development of Tāmaki and its community.
The first task for the new company will be to bring all the current and future initiatives and projects together into a single strategic framework. This will include catalyst projects to improve education, employment, health, environment, and safety. The Crown and the Council will approve the over-arching plan and business cases before full transformation projects start.
The TRC will lead the transformation, undertaking some projects itself, procuring delivery of other projects, and influencing the direction of others.
The jointly owned company is a new structure for the Government and the Council. Roles and responsibilities have been defined in the Heads of Agreement signed today.
The new company will have a board of up to seven directors to allow for a wide range of skills. A comprehensive appointment process for the full board is under way.
The Chief Executive Officer-designate of the new company is Debra Lawson, who will take up the position on 3 September. She has over 20 years’ experience as a chief executive in organisations delivering affordable homes and social infrastructure in the United Kingdom.
She has worked at the leading edge of public private partnership initiatives, delivering large-scale and complex urban regeneration programmes within the diverse communities of South London, with a strong focus on accountability to local people.
The TRC will be based in offices in the Glen Innes area.
For further information: www.tamakitransformation.co.nz
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What kind of company will be set up?
The new Tāmaki Redevelopment Company (TRC) will be a special purpose company that brings together public and private sector investment, a wide range of multi-sector partners and a mandate to spearhead implementation of transformation activities. Such regeneration entities usually work within a commercial framework, making them credible with, and attractive to, private sector investors.
2. When will the new company be operational?
The new company is expected to be operational as soon as board appointments have been made in the next few months.
3. Who will be on the board of the new company and how will they be chosen?
The new company will have a board of up to seven directors to allow for a wide range of skills. The appointment process is in the process of development. It is envisaged, however, that at least one of the directors will have experience and knowledge of relevant Māori and Pacific issues.
4. Who will be the new company’s CEO?
Debra Lawson has been appointed CEO-designate. She has more than 20 years’ experience managing urban regeneration programmes in the UK. She takes up her role on 3 September.
5. The jointly-owned company is a new structure in New Zealand. How will it work in practice?
Roles and responsibilities are defined in the Heads of Agreement which has been signed today.
6. Will the new company consult with the Tāmaki community about its needs?
Yes. The Tāmaki community has been an integral part of developing the vision for the Transformation Programme over the past few years, with widespread and continuous consultation with mana whenua and the local community. The new company will continue to work with the community to further develop that vision and to identify the transformational activities that are necessary. This is very much a “place-based” approach which will allow for solutions that meet local needs.
7. Which areas will be covered by the Tāmaki Transformation?
The Tāmaki Transformation Programme area broadly comprises the suburbs of Glen Innes (East and West), Point England and Panmure. Further work is under way to consider how best to draw the boundaries to ensure the best mix of development opportunities. A map of the indicative regeneration area is included as part of the Heads of Agreement.
8. Why have these areas been chosen?
Tāmaki has been identified as an area with significant potential. It is close to the Auckland and Manukau central business districts and is of significant cultural importance to the mana whenua of the Auckland area. It has a young population, a sense of history and community, green spaces and near-coastal location. The Tāmaki community wants to get ahead and has aspirations for greater self-reliance through improved education and employment opportunities, better health facilitated by improved housing and safer neighbourhoods.
9. Where will the new company be based?
The company will have offices in Glen Innes town centre so it can be at the heart of the community it serves.
10. How can I put forward a project for the TRC to consider?
The company will work with the community to develop a strategic framework. It is important to note that the company will not control all Crown and Council activities in Tāmaki, but will work closely with them and with the community to make sure that all regeneration activities are progressed with the purpose of moving Tāmaki into the future. Submissions should be made to the TRC in the first instance once it is operational.
15 Comments
Debra Lawson has been appointed CEO-designate. She has more than 20 years’ experience managing urban regeneration programmes in the UK. She takes up her role on 3 September.
Oh Dear...the english invasion continues. We are importing the english because they will do things to us that a Kiwi with a real stake in the country would have trouble doing. (eg new heads of Treasury and Education)
Hnads up who can name any English urban regeneration that did not make you want to leave immediately. England has London and The Countryside- and nothing in between, they have no regard at all for any other towns. The place is really really bad. I wonder what Debra can help with? What did she regenerate and have the locals rioted yet? Their High Streets are dying, manufacturing is dying, housing is pityful.
They are OK at building 'fake town thingys' that Prince Charles approves of- complete with mock Georgian Bus Stops. Perhaps she could help with that.
Can't we stop these people at the boarder?
She has worked at the leading edge of public private partnership initiatives, delivering large-scale and complex urban regeneration programmes within the diverse communities of South London, with a strong focus on accountability to local people.
It gets worse and worse... so we are in for some really expensive PPPs that we will not be able to understand, but will end up costing a fortune- great. I wonder if they ever actually built any houses?
Maybe she will be OK, I hope so. BUt why could we not have found a local with a comitment to NZ to do the job. The worry I have is the whole Fly in Fly out- it might work for mine workers but not for this sort of job.
Plan B – You are spot on with your analysis. I worked for one of the UK Urban Development Corporations in the mid 1990’s and they wasted a huge amount of public money. They were supposed to encourage public/private partnerships but in reality the private sector invested very little of their own money, it was nearly all public money that was squandered.
All the Development Corporations produced very expensive, wordy and pretty development plans prepared by Planners who had no commercial experience. The D.C’s claimed that they “created” numerous jobs in their areas but in actual fact no new jobs were actually created. All the companies that moved into their areas just re-located from other surrounding areas because they were given exorbitant grants to move in, hence no new jobs were created. It will be interesting to see what Len Brown says about this in a few years time. This is because all the D.C’s in the UK were hated by the Local Councils as they were blighting existing surrounding areas by moving companies into the D.C. area. I must admit the pay and perks working for the D.C were very generous.
When will N.Z. learn that any UK policy model is not a good one to replicate?
Heatley saying "a state house sitting on a half-acre, is under-utilisation of the resource".
Acknowledging there are physical limits, Phil? Or do you not realise that's what you're doing? Smarter folk - Caygill comes to mind - don't get it either, so don't worry. You should start by asking for a report into the fossil fuel requirement to drive your project(s), vs the supply time-line. Then add the ongoing requirement of infrastructure maintenance.
I love the "Why has it been chosen section" written in such glowing terms you'd have to question that it needs any regeneration at all, the real reason Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure are working class areas that sit on prime real estate (a stones throw from St Heliers et al), much as Ponsonby, Grey Lynn did 30 years ago, once this process starts the property values will explode and that current 'community' will be dispocessed, I really do wonder about Len Brown sometimes.
So it will "lead the transformation, undertaking some projects itself, procuring delivery of other projects, and influencing the direction of others." ?
What does that actually mean? Presumably that it will do some expensive publicly funded key projects and then get involved as another layer of bureaucracy and expense if anyone is stupid enough to attempt a private project?
As well as dealing with Council and the unknown time & expensive of Resource Consents developers will now also have to deal with a Tamaki Redevelopment Company and it's aspirations of building a first world neighbourhood.
In a few years they'll be trying to figure out why they can't convince developers to build $800K houses to sell to people who can't afford $400k houses.
CEA designate Debra Lawson was most recently CEO of Queenstown Lakes District Council where most in the business community would agree she was out of her depth and completely inneffectual. Interestingly, her bio does not reference this disasterous 3 year term at all.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10821817
The first $8,500,000 of tax and ratepayers money now commited to setting it up. Guess they do need offices, equipment, flash branding, salaries etc. before they start doing whatever it is they'll do.
That sounds good, but I wish they could implement this with utmost responsibility so people will not wait for nothing.
Cheers,
Karlo of how to name a company
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