Te Tai Tokerau Papakainga Toolkit recognised in international awards

Greg Innes, chairman of Whangārei District Council's planning and development committee. Photo/Supplied

A Northland project designed to help Māori land owners navigate the process for building homes on ancestral lands has been commended in awards which recognise the top planning practice in the Commonwealth.

The Te Tai Tokerau Papakainga Toolkit project - a collaboration between Barker and Associates, Far North District Council, Kaipara District Council, Northland Regional Council and Whangārei District Council - won one of two commendations at The Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) inaugural awards, which were announced at the Planning Africa Conference in Cape Town on October 16.

Greg Innes, chairman of Whangārei District Council's planning and development committee, said it was humbling to have the project recognised internationally.

"It's really great...It recognises the particular needs of Māori in terms of the development of their land, particularly papakainga," he said.

The toolkit is a 23-page guide which walks whanau through the process, starting with developing a kaupapa and ending with applying for building and resource consents.

Innes said before the toolkit, people would have to navigate the Resource Management Act.

"Under the Resource Management Act planning documents can be quite technical and what this is doing is trying to indicate in a more user-friendly way, the way forward.

"It's really a step by step approach and really takes out a lot of the jargon."