Changes to the way developments are grown in the Western Bay of Plenty look likely following a recent planners' trip to Australia.

A recent study tour involving ten delegates from SmartGrowth met with state government staff, local government and developers in both Sydney and Brisbane.

City planners have been left with plenty to ponder after a recent trip to Australia. Photo: File.

One example of their findings lies in the future of commercial precincts, which may be operating from the outset of new developments instead of being tacked on after the bulk of the residential construction is underway.

Creating reserves, community facilities and retail sites early in the development of growth areas could also become the norm if lessons from the tour are implemented.

SmartGrowth implementation manager Duncan Tindall says: 'At Oran Park in southwest Sydney, we saw the provision of a supermarket, schools and office accommodation provided much earlier in the growth of the whole complex than we are used to seeing in New Zealand.

'These facilities in turn attracted home owners to the area, so we need to think through how that could be applied to our growth areas like Te Tumu and Keenan Road.

'Forward funding community infrastructure in this way is a concept that we look forward to exploring more here with our partners and developers.”

SmartGrowth partners are currently looking at building a new town in East Papamoa over the coming years, and are in the market for new ideas.

The report on the tour provided the basis discussion during last week's SmartGrowth Implementation Committee.

'We had over two hours' worth of debate on that discussion,” adds Duncan. 'It wasn't about making decisions, it was about understanding what we have seen and setting the tone going forward.”

'There are ideas that those who took the tour really want to take forward and see if we can make happen – things that we want to explore and look to see how we can apply the learnings that we got there.”

Top of the list is a more inclusive approach between the developer/land owner and council.

A change in the rules to incorporate a more accommodating planning model in the structure plans and subsequent plan changes is thought to be a high priority.

'We intend to remain much more open-minded about development typologies that can work and will look for ways to demonstrate ‘outside the square' thinking,” says Duncan.

The visitors saw many examples of ‘social' infrastructure, such as halls, parks and gardens, as well as transit infrastructure in the shape of rail, bus, and highway access being used to catalyse the type of development considered necessary.

'Perhaps we need to consider how the rule book affects development feasibility and adjust our rules accordingly,” says Duncan.