Upper Stebbings and Glenside West development concept

Status Closed
Start date 3 November 2020
Closed date 30 November 2020
Number of submissions 137

Our proposed development concept is based on a vision and design principles developed with the community. We'd like your feedback to help us refine the development concept.

Why are we doing this?

Wellington City expects its population to grow by 50,000 – 80,000 people over the next 30 years. The Council’s strategy to accommodate this growth includes intensification in the central city and around existing town centres, and developing new urban areas in Lincolnshire Farm, Upper Stebbings and Glenside West. 

Upper Stebbings and Glenside West are an attractive location for new housing being close to existing shops and services in Churton Park, Takapu Road and Tawa town centre. The area is well connected to the transport network with the existing State Highway interchange at Westchester Drive, the train station at Takapu Road and existing bus services in Churton Park and along Middleton Road. 

The area is currently zoned for rural activities in the District Plan. Before it can be developed, the District Plan zone needs to be changed. The plans we are currently seeking feedback on will help us decide which parts of the site should be zoned for future housing and which parts should be retained as green spaces, and how the new development should relate to adjoining areas. 

What’s happened so far?

Engagement with the community on future development in Upper Stebbings and Glenside West started in 2018 with the development of a vision and design principles. We then engaged on three high level development scenarios. The current development concept builds on the feedback received to date and provides more detail on what the development might look like.

What happened to this consultation?

We asked for feedback on a proposed development concept for the Upper Stebbings and Glenside West area.

What informs the development concept?

The Upper Stebbings and Glenside West area has some streams, including the Stebbings Stream and tributaries of the Porirua Stream. It also features “Significant Natural Areas” – these are typically native bush areas and forested gullies. The area includes high grounds around Marshall Ridge and, like most of the northern suburbs, steep topography in places. 
All of the above features have been taken into consideration in the preparation of the development concept with the view of protecting the natural values of the site while providing much needed new housing.

What is proposed? 

The development concept comprises:

  • An extension of Melksham Drive into the Upper Stebbings Valley with housing areas on either side of the Stebbings stream and main tributaries, keeping development below the ridgelines. The stream corridors and higher grounds would form a network of open spaces providing parks, a play area, a green aspect for the new houses and walking tracks connecting to surrounding reserves. The existing bus service along Melksham Drive would be extended to serve the new urban area.
  • An extension of the “Reedy Block” development, between two stream gullies to be retained. This would be served by a road connection to Westchester Drive and a walking connection down to the bus stops on Middleton Road.
  • Together, these two urban areas could provide over 600 new houses.
  • The balance of the rural land in Glenside West (ie land not identified for residential, open space or Department of Corrections use) could either remain in rural use or be rezoned to enable the development of “lifestyle blocks”. These are usually larger than normal residential lots, have a rural character and may use rainwater collection and septic tanks.

Proposed Upper Stebbings and Glenside West map (11.5MB PDF)

Engagement summary

We have compiled the feedback gathered from this consultation into the engagement report below.

Upper Stebbings and Glenside West engagement summary (5.7MB PDF)

More information

Visit the project page for more information.

Contact

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like to discuss the project.

Lucie Desrosiers, Principal Advisor City Design and Planning
Phone: 04 499 4444
Email: stebbingsglenside@wcc.govt.nz