Shape your city centre
Consultation has concluded.
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on refreshing the vision for our city centre. We engaged with Mana Whenua, local businesses and the wider community to understand their current aspirations and priorities. Your insights have been instrumental in shaping the City Centre Framework which was approved by Council at the end of July.
View the City Centre Framework.
What we heard
Key themes that came through during engagement:
Support for local businesses and infrastructure upgrades.
Strong cultural grounding through values and Mana Whenua partnership.
A commitment to accessibility, safety, and civic vibrancy.
Bringing our streets and public spaces to life through art, events, and inclusive design.
More detail about what we heard during our engagement is available in Appendix 2 of the City Centre Framework.
This feedback has informed the six key moves and associated actions that will be the foundation of our future investment and activities that will shape our city centre.
Many people also shared creative and practical ideas for activating the city centre. We’re keeping these on hand and will be asking for more as we move into the next stage of work.
What’s next?
We’re now moving to the next stage of our work in the city centre and we want to hear from you!
We’re taking a close look at the streets in our city centre – how they look, how they feel, and how well they work for the people who use them every day. Whether you live nearby, work in the area, or just love spending time in the city centre, we want to hear what matters most to you and where we should focus our mahi.
Some streets are facing major changes as part of Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi (RiverLink), but what those changes look like and how we should prioritise investment is still up for discussion. Your feedback will help us get it right.
Find out more and have your say at Shape heart of your city.
Background
As big infrastructure investment starts to happen in our city, we’re also looking into fresh ideas to make our city centre truly sing.
Our first step is to gather community input on how to make it a place where everyone wants to spend time.
A lot has changed since the Central City Transformation Plan — a long-term vision built on over 30 years of planning and community engagement — was adopted in 2019. Your ideas will help us refresh our future vision for the city centre, guiding how we design streets, laneways and spaces to create a vibrant heart to our city that will attract more activity and more people.
This work builds on the Central City Transformation Plan and aligns with wider initiatives to create a dynamic, people-focused and economically resilient city centre.
Wondering what area our Lower Hutt city centre covers? See the map below!
What is the Central City Transformation Plan?
Adopted in 2019, the Central City Transformation Plan was the result of three decades of formal planning and community consultation that sought to re-energise our city centre and turn it towards Te Awa Kairangi Hutt River.
The purpose of the Plan was to:
integrate Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi (formerly RiverLink) works with the city centre
assist Council in identifying potential housing growth opportunities
identify public space improvements
identify areas of special focus where significant change was anticipated.
