Ahuriri

The Ahuriri Study Area includes Ahuriri village and surrounds, West Quay, the land between Bridge Street at the north and Battery Road at the south, the bulk oil facilities and the KiwiRail yard.

It incorporates two key draft District Plan zones: local centre (in light pink and applying to Ahuriri village), and mixed use zone (fuchsia, the remainder of the Ahuriri Study Area).

A number of Council strategies apply to the land at Ahuriri:

• City Vision: The City Vision identifies an opportunity for an Ahuriri Business Park in the mixed-use warehouse precinct to become home to Napier’s entrepreneurial culture and leverage the unique setting and close access to the Hawke’s Bay Business Hub. The City Vision also seeks to manage the port access route to support Napier Port’s growth. More information is available here: City Vision 
• Ahuriri Estuary and Coastal Edge Masterplan: The masterplan seeks to improve the interface between land and sea. Some of the initiatives for Ahuriri include making West Quay a pedestrian priority area, strengthening the connection between Ahuriri village and the coastal edge, and facilitating improvements to Bridge Street. Council is also looking at options for the inner harbour area to address structural issues, coastal hazards, and to futureproof the area for innovation and change. More information is available here: Ahuriri Estuary Project 
• Regional Industrial Land Strategy: This strategy is still in draft. It aims to take a coordinated approach to industrial growth and development across Hastings and Napier. The strategy mentions protecting port access (both road and rail access), protecting industry requiring access to the port and/or the coast, and providing for an emerging high-tech business hub in a defined area.

Some of the issues facing further growth and regeneration in Ahuriri include:

Transport generation

If there’s significant further growth in the area, traffic may increase, and that may impact efficiency and accessibility at key intersections throughout Ahuriri. These issues could be resolved by using the District Plan Review to limit increases in the sorts of activities that contribute to increased vehicle movements, and by upgrading intersections.

Conflicts between industrial activity and residential/office use

If we don’t manage the location and effects of different types of activities, potential conflicts could include:

• traffic: eg those driving to Port Ahuriri School and the heavy vehicle movements required for transport to and from industrial facilities and Napier Port;
• significant noise and vibration along Bridge Street/Ahuriri Bypass/railways and the rail shunting yard which could affect the quality of living for new residents and workers;
• the noise generated by industrial activities, (including reversing beeping and security gates), as well as onsite manufacturing and processing.

To achieve the strategic direction for Ahuriri, there needs to be a balance between efficient port access and residential/office use.

Risk from bulk oil facilities

Bulk oil facilities are required to manage their risk within their own site as much as is feasible. For example, they must have sufficient capacity to contain a spill from a tank without any seepage off the site. However, some things can’t be fully managed within a site, such as noise from trucks, and the very low probability but high potential impact risk of an explosion. With more houses in very close proximity to the bulk oil facilities, more people will be impacted by the operational effects of these facilities.

However, due to the significant investment bulk oil facilities have made to be in their current location, their fixed locational needs and the ongoing importance of these facilities for our region (as well as wider New Zealand), they’re unlikely to relocate within the period of the next District Plan.

Effect on the city centre

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a significant impact on the vibrancy and vitality of our city centre, at least in the short to medium term. With constraints on international tourism, and changing working habits meaning more people will continue to work from home, some businesses in the CBD may either look to close or downsize. New offices and/or retail in Ahuriri (outside of the village centre) currently require a resource consent. The requirements of the consent include an assessment of available tenancies and any potential effects on the vitality and vibrancy of the city centre as a result of locating in Ahuriri. Loosening of these restrictions through the District Plan Review may impact on the overall viability of the CBD.

Ahuriri Mixed Use Zone

Option #1 – Status quo with amendments

This option would retain most of the provisions of the existing Mixed Use Zone and West Quay Character Zone in the current Napier District Plan, with minor changes:

• Retail: permitted if related to goods produced onsite (maximum 20% of gross floor area), otherwise resource consent required - no change
• Hospitality: permitted in West Quay, resource consent required elsewhere – no change
• Offices: permitted if ancillary to industrial activities (maximum 20% of gross floor area), otherwise resource consent required – no change
• Residential: permitted. Resource consent required for multi-unit developments and subdivisions, with new design criteria to achieve quality living environments – no change
• Industrial: Light industry only permitted (light manufacturing and servicing; repair and maintenance services; warehousing and storage), otherwise resource consent required – changed, as this is a mandatory requirement to meet new central government guidelines for District Plan zones
• New buildings: 12m height limit (no change); new buildings over 400m2 require resource consent and design assessment; acoustic insulation requirements for new residential and offices (additional provisions may apply in heritage character precincts.

This option continues to offer flexibility in response to market preferences while reducing the potential for new heavy industrial activities to establish and detract from residents’ quality of living. However, there is still potential for cumulative effects on the transport network, impacts on our city centre, and conflicts between existing industrial activities and new residents.

Option #2 – Partial rezoning

This option would retain a revised Mixed Use Zone as per Option #1 for most of the area, with the following rezonings proposed:

• Rezone to Industry Zone: applies to the oil tank facilities and adjoining land on Coronation Street and Tangaroa Streets. This would be consistent with the central government guidelines for district plan zones.
• Rezone to General Residential Zone: applies to what are primarily residential buildings within the proposed Battery Road character precinct along Coronation, Campbell and Ossian Streets. Offices and retail would require resource consent (consistent with the Mixed Use Zone). Any industrial activity would be non-complying. 
• Business Hub area: Land within the Business Hub area could be used for office activity subject to a restricted discretionary resource consent with clear assessment criteria. Offices outside the Business Hub area and zoned Mixed Use would be non-complying.

This option continues to enable a mix of activities in Ahuriri but seeks to manage conflicts by adding separate industrial and residential zones. This approach also seeks to manage traffic issues by limiting the areas where different types of activities can take place. There is still potential for cumulative effects on traffic generation and a negative impact on the city centre, however this is managed to a greater extent than Option #1.

The Business Hub allowance may generate issues with more people looking to cross Bridge Street to West Quay. However, appropriate crossing solutions could be designed to manage the impact.

At the edge of the Industry Zone there might still be conflicts between industrial activities and adjacent developments, including with new residential activity – although these could be managed through new rules such as landscaping and noise limits at the zone boundary.

The Ahuriri Village Centre is currently zoned Neighbourhood Commercial under the current District Plan. This will be called Local Centre under the Draft District Plan.

The Ahuriri Village Centre has expanded north since the previous District Plan was prepared. To recognise the current extent of the village centre, Council proposes rezoning some properties on upper Bridge Street from Mixed Use to Local Centre. The key differences for these properties would be a) that resource consent would no longer be required for retail or office activities, and b) that industrial activities would not be permitted.

A number of properties in the area have already been redeveloped as residential. To recognise this, the following rezonings are proposed:

• 2-20 Waghorne Street: Rezoning from Local Centre to Mixed Use Zone. This recognises the height and intensity of the terraced units (consistent with the character of the Mixed Use Zone) and the absence of ground floor retail as anticipated in the Local Centre Zone
• South of Waghorne Street between Wright Street and Winston Lane: Rezoning from Mixed Use Zone to General Residential and Ahuriri Spit precinct to recognise the pattern of residential development which is consistent with those houses further east.

The properties affected by the proposed rezoning are shown in the map below.

We’re working with property owners and occupiers in Ahuriri to identify the issues, opportunities and potential options for zoning of this area.

Our Draft District Plan, due out end of may 2021, will contain a chapter on Ahuriri.  We’ll be taking your feedback from this consultation into account when formulating it.

We welcome your comments on the potential options, as well as suggestions and alternatives for us to consider over the coming months.