Community Plan 2009-2019

The district is divided into three wards - New Plymouth City, North and South-West. The City Ward includes New Plymouth City, Bell Block, Oakura and immediate adjacent areas. Waitara, and areas north of the Waitara River, comprise the North Ward and the South-West Ward covers the remainder of the district.

Our natural and built environment has many attributes. We have:

• A coastal city, facing the Tasman Sea with Mount Taranaki at our back.
• Only five per cent of the district's and being used for urban purposes.
• Two hundred and forty five Council-owned parks and reserves - and more than 80 per cent of residents live within 400 metres of one.
• One hundred and fifty kilometres of coastline with 13 official beaches including Fitzroy, East End and Oakura beaches with Blue Flag accreditation.
• Sixty walkways opening up the district to residents and visitors.

Our district:

• Is one of New Zealand's main dairy regions.
• Is an energy and engineering centre.
• Has one of the largest ports in New Zealand.
• Has a local economy that has been growing year-on-year.
• Has a moderate population growth that is well planned for.
• Has a sound infrastructure on which to base future growth.

In recent years New Plymouth has undergone a transformation.

• We have created outstanding new facilities such as our integrated museum, library and visitor information centre, Puke Ariki (regarded as a new world model in the delivery of information and heritage services), the major sports and events facility Yarrow Stadium and the seven kilometre long Coastal Walkway.
• These complement existing assets such as internationally renowned Pukekura Park in the central city (originally created in the 19th century, on what was then the edge of the fledgling town).

Today's success didn't happen by accident.

• It is built on a legacy of visionary leaders; creative, hard-working, passionate people; and astute decision-making over the generations.
• New Plymouth District Council is recognised nationally and internationally for innovative planning and development.

Collaboration is a key strength, with New Plymouth District Council joining with other local councils and community agencies to develop initiatives that benefit our communities.Return to top

Our people

The district has a population of approximately 72,000 people and for the life of the 2009-2019 Community Plan is expected to grow by an average of 0.4 per cent per year. The gender mix of the district's population is expected to remain at approximately 51 per cent females and 49 per cent males.

The demographics of New Plymouth District show that we have an ageing population with a large proportion of people moving into the over 65 age group during the life of this ten-year plan. This is a factor for consideration in the future provision of services in the district.

Our social well-being

Our social well-being is a fundamental ingredient in determining our quality of life. Working together as a cohesive, united community based on strong relationships between people from different cultures, communities and organisations is important to the way we feel about our district. The Council supports and is committed to celebrating its multi-ethnic diversity and throughout our work, different cultural values are respected.

Our cultural well-being

Also rich in culture, New Plymouth is home to Puke Ariki  - a ground-breaking integrated museum, library and i-SITE -  the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, widely known for its cutting edge contemporary art exhibitions, and events including WOMAD (World of Music Art and Dance) and the Taranaki Arts Festival. Taranaki boasts magnificent gardens of national significance, the iconic Mount Taranaki, a spectacular national park and two marine reserves, iron sand beaches and great surf, wonderful lakes, a vibrant arts and crafts scene, gourmet cafe's and restaurants, museums and galleries and a range of activities for those with a sense of fun and adventure... Taranaki - like no other. Return to top

Our Economy

Our region topped year-on-year growth in New Zealand, recording a growth rate of 2.6 per cent. Since 2004 Taranaki has been consistently above the national growth rate. Since September 2008 growth has been relatively weak, with September 2008 quarter showing a drop in growth of 1.9 per cent, coinciding with the global economic downturn. The region has consistently performed above the national average and this in some way provides some cushioning effect.

Our economic well-being

The local economy is based mainly on agriculture, particularly the dairy industry, with other significant industries including horticulture, heavy and light engineering, manufacturing and tourism. The Council contracts with a Council-controlled organisation (Venture Taranaki Trust) to deliver our economic growth activities. Together we ensure that the industries that are important to us all are supported and assisted in their growth, and this is done through the creation of Engineering Taranaki and other such initiatives.

Energy and related industries are also important - onshore oil was discovered as early as 1865 from the Alpha well in the New Plymouth suburb of Moturoa, and in the late 1970s the offshore Maui A well began production of natural gas. All this encouraged overseas investment and a flourishing energy and petrochemical industry developed. As Maui A resources decline, new sites in Taranaki are being developed in an effort to find more commercial petrochemical reserves. Again, providing an environment to support these industries is important to the Council.Return to top

Our Environment

Our District Plan has a key role in our overall environmental strategy, because it sets out the policies and rules for the sustainable management of natural and physical resources in our area. Our Coastal Strategy was developed to guide the long-term sustainable management of our coastal areas for the next 20 years. The entire community took part in this strategy's creation, and New Plymouth District Council won an award for its innovative collaboration with the local indigenous people in developing this plan -  creating a new model for environmental management.

Our district's wastewater treatment plant has 'closed the loop' of waste management, by thermally drying the excess sludge into a Ministry of Health approved fertiliser.

The Taranaki Regional Council has completed its State of the Environmental Report 2009.  The report provides an insight into both the current and future environmental well-being of the region. 

The report generally presents Taranaki as having a high-quality environment, which is valued and well-managed by the community.  In summary, the report finds that:

• More of the eastern hill country land is being managed sustainably.
• Our soils are generally healthy.
• Agencies and community groups have stepped up efforts to protect indigenous biodiversity by undertaking predator control programmes.
• The ecological health of rivers and streams has measurably improved at a number of sites and not measurably deteriorated at any site over the past dozen years.
• Measures of ecological health, such as the communities of invertebrates living in streams, are good to excellent in the upper catchments where there is more stream bank vegetation cover but only fair further down the catchments where land use is more intense.
• Fresh water usually meets the bacteriological guidelines for swimming, except after floods or in some intensively farmed catchments. Phosphorus levels, already naturally high and exceeding guidelines, are generally increasing further. Nitrogen levels meet guidelines in upper catchments but not further down.
• Regionally significant wetlands have on the whole been adequately protected but small wetlands and streams are under pressure from land development.
• Coastal water quality for ocean swimming is excellent, and rocky shore ecological health is reasonably stable.
• Overall air quality in the region is excellent.
• Landscape, amenity and heritage values are of high quality.
• While the whole region is now serviced by just one landfill, the quantity of waste has increased by 20 per cent over 12 years.

The 2009 report finds total spending on the environment by the Taranaki community is conservatively estimated at $85.1 million a year, an increase of $28 million a year since the 2003 report. Our high-quality environment has not come about by accident but by the co-operative and increasingly proactive actions of the community.

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