Peacocke: Weaving together a new community

Overview

We have an awesome opportunity to shape the Peacocke community from the ground up.

You’ve told us a lot in the past few years about what sort of neighbourhood you like to live in.

You’ve told us you need the basics like good quality, affordable housing, that is attractive and varied.

We know it’s important to you to have great places to spend time in as a community that are safe, lots of open spaces like parks and playgrounds and places that celebrate the area’s unique environment and cultural heritage.

We also know it’s important for you to be able to access these places easily in your neighbourhood – whether it be on your bike, in your car or using your feet!

Using all the things you’ve told us about the type of neighbourhood you like to live in, we’ve started to put together a plan for our newest one: Peacocke.

We do this through a structure plan which is a long-term plan to help guide the development of a new area. It considers things like transport connections (including public transport, cycling and walking), parks and open spaces, commercial areas, housing style and density, environment and cultural heritage and sets out the best place for each of those activities to happen. It will help us balance the need for housing with social, cultural, environmental and economic outcomes for our community.

While some parts of the neighbourhood like the Southern Links roading network and other infrastructure like wastewater pipes are already set in stone, there are still plenty of opportunities to shape Peacocke into the type of community you want to live in.

We want to know what you think about our plans so far. Your feedback will help us put together a draft Peacocke Structure Plan which will undergo a formal consultation in May 2021.

Peacocke is located in the south—west of Hamilton just kilometres from the central city, the University of Waikato and existing neighbourhoods in Hillcrest and Glenview. Its proximity to the Waikato River means the land has always been significant to Maaori, who traditionally used the area to grow kuumara and the river to trade.

Planning for the Peacocke neighbourhood has been taking place in the background for more than 30 years.

Peacocke was officially included within Hamilton’s boundary in 1989 and since then has remained mostly undeveloped. That’s because it’s expensive to build the infrastructure like pipes and roads you need to develop a neighbourhood from scratch.

In 2018, the Government jumped on board to help us open Peacocke and provide some much-needed housing for Hamilton. We received a $180.3 million interest-free loan and $110.1 million of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency subsidies to build the infrastructure we need to get housing under way.

The Peacocke programme will deliver a new bridge, main roads, parks, and strategic water, wastewater and stormwater networks. Other work includes protecting and enhancing the environment, including the extensive gully system, recognising and protecting our cultural heritage and investigating community facilities which are also important parts of creating a new community in Peacocke. 

When completed, Peacocke will be home for up to 20,000 Hamiltonians.