Dialogue: North Shore grappling with challenges of urban growth

GEORGE WOOD* says any criticism of the state of North Shore beaches should acknowledge the city's efforts to create a cleaner environment.

The sewage problems commented upon in a Dialogue article by David Hill, of New Plymouth, are close to my heart.

I appreciate that Mr Hill may not have a deep understanding of our problems, but simplistic nostalgia doesn't help us when we are already making huge efforts to acknowledge past mistakes, deal with the issues and manage things better in the future.

After 10 years as a city, it's time to take stock of where we are and redefine what kind of future we want. We have some major infrastructural issues and urban growth challenges to grapple with, but we are not alone.

We've been open about our problems (an approach some organisations may not have taken) and in a way this honesty has a flip side - we are sometimes seen as the only city facing such issues. We've inherited infrastructural problems - managing growth on top of them adds more pressure, but the problems have always been there.

New Zealand is on a huge learning curve in the management of urban areas and the Auckland region, in particular, has some unique issues with which it must come to grips.

But the pressures have not always been of our own making. A large proportion of new immigrants settle in the Auckland region, and we're becoming the home of choice for more and more New Zealanders.

Most people who live in North Shore City understandably want to raise their families here. It is the fastest-growing region in New Zealand, with a population of 1.2 million, growing at around 2.5 per cent a year.

That is the equivalent of Dunedin being added to the Auckland region every four years.

North Shore City Council is well aware of the infrastructure and growth problems we are facing and we are doing our best to address them.

Whether we like it or not, growth and change are part of our city and have been a big part of the life of North Shore City since 1959 when the harbour bridge was opened. We can't turn the clock back now.

We are looking to manage growth better and ensure we provide the infrastructure necessary to support it.

We have one of the largest sewerage-system upgrade projects in the country under way, called Project Care. A lot of work has been done in the past two years to identify and understand how the city's sewerage network is performing.

We have a host of works programmes and projects identified to improve system performance, cater for growth and improve beach water quality. We are developing options for the long-term wastewater improvement programme for the city.

We will take these options to the community and, following extensive consultation, will then decide on beach water and sewerage system performance standards by the middle of next year.

There's no shying away from our commitment to fixing the sewers and cleaning up the beaches. This year alone, we are spending another $54 million - or 30c in every rate dollar - on maintaining and improving the sewerage system.

As well as Project Care, we've developed a comprehensive coastal management policy and are setting up a dedicated team of officers to develop a strategy for managing growth and development over the next 20 years as part of our obligations under the regional growth strategy.

We also have to work with developers more effectively to promote better design of higher-density housing.

It's important that we face up to the problems as a community. We are challenged by complex social, economic and environmental urban issues that are very different to those facing any other part of New Zealand and which require solutions specific to the Auckland region. We need a better policy environment to help local authorities address these challenges.

The Auckland region has been forced to face its future.

A lot of other areas in New Zealand need to as well but won't until the ageing infrastructures and mounting pressures have already done the damage.

As New Zealanders, we all need to deal with these issues and work together to protect our environment. Our desires for coastal properties, for urban living, for rural lifestyle blocks close to town, for driving our cars everywhere whenever we want, have created the kind of cities we have today.

If we are serious about protecting our environment, we all need to become better educated about waste and water management, the environmental effects of car travel and a whole host of other things.

North Shore City is a great place to live and we are passionate about ensuring that our environment is fit for future generations to use and enjoy. With the support of our community I am confident that a cleaner, more managed environment will result as we complete current and planned projects.

* George Wood is the Mayor of North Shore City.