One-stop shop for planning?

Press, 20 May 1987, Page 24

One-stop shop for planning?

PA Tauranga New Zealand’s planners say they do not want the planning system abandoned in favour of a free market approach. But they do want to see the present system streamlined into a lowcost, “one-stop shop” arrangement to short-circuit the confusing array of planning consents now required. ’ These were the main conclusions of a working party discussion after the annual conference of the New Zealand Planning Institute. The working party considered “the future directions of the New Zealand planning system" in the light of conference discussions and a review of the Town and Country Planning Act.

“With all the debate about market forces, some people are forgetting how important strong planning is to New Zealand,” said a working party spokesman, Mr Vem Warren. Mr Warren is the director of planning for the Auckland City Council. "It is now a question of refining our present planning system to cope better with some of these issues. At the same time weight is given to market forces, new weight is being given to cultural and social issues. “The planning system is the place where these will be put into a balanced perspective. “Response to market forces is important for New Zealand but it is only one of the many Inputs into a planning decision.”