FEATURE
Growing well on the Kāpiti Coast Elspeth McIntyre, Senior Communications Advisor and Engagement, Kāpiti Coast Council
The Kāpiti Coast is rapidly shaking off its image of a string of sleepy seaside villages full of baches and retirement homes, and mellow cousin to the more sophisticated metropolitan Wellington.
Improved transport networks now make it a comfortable one-hour rail commute to the Capital. The Transmission Gully expressway from Wellington will open the district up to further growth. But for at least three decades, people have been arriving in growing numbers for the beautiful beaches, warmer and calmer climate, and family-friendly atmosphere. It’s now among New Zealand’s fastest growing regions. The population increased by 23,000 over the past 30 years to 57,000 and is expected to swell by another 32,000 over the next 30. That’s roughly equivalent to adding the number of people already living in the area from south of Waikanae through to Raumati.
Primed for growth The predicted growth won’t happen all at once, but the Kāpiti Coast District Council is already planning for it. The Council consulted (19 October to 19 November 2021) with residents on its approach to growth for the next 30 years in tandem with its strategy for a diverse, cohesive and connected network of open spaces. Council General Manager Strategy, Growth and Recovery Natasha Tod, says the district is well on its way to achieving its vision of a thriving environment, vibrant economy and strong community. “We’ve developed a substantial work programme to help stimulate our local economy as it rebuilds from the pandemic and to build resilience for the future.
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The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand
“We’re investing $225.3million in our capital works programme over the next three years. That’s an average of $75.1million a year — more than triple the spend for each of the last three years. “Increasing our investment will allow us to ‘build back better’ from COVID-19, and future-proof our infrastructure, services and community facilities. This will enable us to accommodate the growth we’re expecting and ensure new development is adequately serviced,” she says. “We’re seeing really strong interest from developers in residential development in Kāpiti, in large part due to the improved transport networks to Wellington. But I think in addition to that, people are looking at new ways of working, especially remotely, and the secret's out about our great climate and fabulous lifestyle.”
The question of housing stock Like the rest of New Zealand, Kāpiti is experiencing a shortage of housing stock and a rise in house prices. The lower quartile house price in the district increased by 435% between 2001 - 2021. “We’ve been seeing about 250 new houses a year built here, but the predicted growth means we need double that,” Tod says. “It’s pleasing to see developers showing interest in different types of housing. A lot of our district’s easily developed land has been taken, so medium density housing like townhouses and apartments offer
