Auckland Unleashed: Submission Guidelines
'Auckland Unleashed' discussion document submission guidelines from an arts, culture and creative sector perspective.
Background
The ‘Auckland Unleashed’ discussion document sets out ideas and initial proposals for feedback to help prepare the draft Auckland Plan (also referred to as the Spatial Plan). It is open to anyone to provide comments, which will be considered during the formulation of the draft Plan.
The ‘Towards an Auckland Advisory Group’ Working Group is facilitating the formation of, on behalf of the wider the arts and culture sector, a wider group that seeks to connect the sector together and be an issues-based communication conduit within and beyond the sector.
We think that arts and culture play an essential role in the development of our city region. We urge people involved and interested in the development of arts and culture in Auckland to submit their feedback to the Auckland Unleashed discussion document. We have prepared a summary reading of the Auckland Unleashed discussion document from an arts perspective, as well as a submission guide (below).
Submitting to the Auckland Unleashed discussion document
You can submit your comments using email, an online submission form or by post. However you do it, your comments need to be received by 4pm on Tuesday, 31 May 2011. See more about the submission process and related FAQs here.
email submission here: theaucklandplan@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
post submission here (no need for a stamp):
Freepost Authority 237170
Auckland Council
The Auckland Plan
Private Bag 92300
Auckland 1142
The process for getting to the Auckland Plan
The Auckland Unleashed document is the first step in the formulation of the Auckland Plan. The Draft Auckland Plan will follow, and submissions /feedback will be sought following the release of the draft Auckland Plan in June/July 2011. The Auckland Plan will be finalised /adopted in December 2011. More information here
We are aware that many areas of Auckland Council are now formulating strategic frameworks (Economic development, arts & culture, heritage…) which will be part of the draft Auckland Plan (due out June/July). It is therefore essential that our sector is active with our feedback now through the Auckland Unleashed discussion document and other discussion documents and feedback opportunities that become available.
Under the new regional governance structure, many arts and cultural activities are delivered through the CCOs (principally the Auckland Tourism, Economic Development and Events CCO, and the Regional Facilities Auckland CCO ) and the Local Boards. The Statements of Intent put forward annually to Auckland Council by the CCOs will need work in alignment with and deliver on the strategies contained in the Auckland Plan and subsequent long term council community plan (LTCCP) and annual plans.
When submitting to Auckland Unleashed, we urge people to consider not only ‘hard infrastructure’ (buildings, places, land etc) but also ‘soft infrastructure’ (policies, values, people, programmes, communities).
Feedback / submission process
The Auckland Unleashed discussion document has a list of 11 questions for submitters to offer feedback on. The questions are listed below, along with the working group’s suggestions /guidelines for points that you may like to cover. These are not exhaustive and you / your organisations will of course have other, perhaps more specific, feedback which you should of course also include.
You may also choose to agree/comment on/expand on the strategic priorities identified in the discussion document. Those which reference the arts/culture/creative sector /creative industries are summarised on pages 5 to 10 of “Auckland Unleashed: The Auckland Plan discussion document – Summary for the Arts Sector” by Elise Sterbeck
The feedback questions below are those which are currently on the Auckland Council website. They are differently worded to the ones at the end of each section in the Auckland Unleashed discussion document:
Q1.
How can Auckland become more child-friendly, enabling children to reach their full potential?
Our submission guidelines (from an arts, culture and creative sector perspective):
- Arts, culture and creativity are important drivers of community involvement, belonging, engagement and cohesiveness. Creating a strong sense of this in our communities begins with children and involving them early on in their lives through personal participation and exposure to arts and creativity.
- The foundation for strong, vibrant creative sector workforce for Auckland in the future will be built on exposing and involving children and young people in the arts at an early age. The creative sector is a strong contributor to the economy of Auckland.
- It is therefore important that an overarching arts and culture/ creativity strategy that includes ways of fostering a life-long involvement in the arts and cultural expression be developed that is supported by Council’s policy, planning and delivery though Council proper as well as Local Boards and CCOs.
Q 2.
How do we celebrate and protect our local identity and networks while being connected as part of a global city?
Our submission guidelines (from an arts, culture and creative sector perspective):
- Arts and cultural expression (through, visual, dance, performance, literature, broadcasting, visual and moving image, festivals) provides a unique and essential vehicle for building local identity, and for bringing together and connecting people within communities. Strong communities make strong cities.
- Fostering arts and cultural expression and involvement in the arts across the community gives a voice to and manifestation of the diversity of the people of our city/region. The diversity of our communities is a point of difference for our place as well as a source of inspiration and a springboard for growth of our city’s cultural, economic and social capital.
- It is important that the future planning of Auckland takes into account the need for safe, good quality, accessible and affordable venues and places for the continuum of arts practice to take place: from community based initiatives through to professional groups, institutions and organisations.
- It is important that an overarching arts and culture/ creativity strategy that encourages arts, cultural and creative expression from Auckland’s unique local communities be developed that is supported by Council’s policy, planning and delivery though Council proper as well as, most importantly, the Local Boards.
Q 3.
How should the Auckland Plan address housing needs (eg supply, range, location, affordability and quality)?
No submission guidelines for this question (from an arts, culture and creative sector perspective
WQ 4.
In developing a more productive, high value economy, what priorities and sectors should the Auckland Plan focus on?
-The arts and creative sector, specifically the creative industries (design, music, performance, screen production, visual arts, publishing and broadcasting) are already acknowledged to be strong contributors to the economy of Auckland: 6.6% of Auckland’s GDP is generated by the creative sector (“The Numbers 2009” Auckland City Council PDF)
People choose to do business, live, visit and work in cities that are vibrant and exciting places to be. Arts, culture and creative sectors are significant drivers in making world class cities that are desirable to live in. To grow these sectors there needs to be research undertaken to identify what the arts and creative sectors in Auckland need to grow and develop further, and strategies and (resourced) actions put in place to support that growth.
WQ 5.
How can we celebrate and further protect our distinctive natural and rural environment through the Auckland Plan?
No submission guidelines for this question (from an arts, culture and creative sector perspective)
WQ 6.
How do you think the Auckland Plan should promote and support high quality development in Auckland?
- Support built environment development that reflects the unique flavour of this place and its residents, whilst valuing and preserving existing heritage areas, places and buildings
- Ensure that a portion of all new development projects has a percentage levied on the total development cost that is dedicated to arts based development of the project /and its immediate environs.
- That an overarching arts and culture/ creativity strategy and action plan that aligns and partners be developed that is supported by Council’s policy, planning and delivery though Council proper as well as Local Boards and CCOs.
WQ 7.
How do we accommodate growth while supporting the Mayor’s vision of becoming the world's most liveable city?
Should the Auckland Plan:
• Support a compact city model that focuses growth in centres and corridors, supports public transport and protect rural areas from further residential and business development;
• Consider areas with high amenity (e.g. coastal or rural aspects, elevated sight lines on ridges) for intensification;
• Support more local employment close to people's homes;
• Protect specific areas from urban development;
• Support a high standard of urban and rural design and heritage protection;
• Investigate areas for new development beyond the current urban footprint.
- Enliven areas of city hubs by adaptive reuse of buildings for underutilised spaces to become venues for all forms of artmaking, performance and creative industries and innovation quarters. Pack around these spaces entertainment venues, bars, restaurants, festivals and events. These areas will be rejuvenated and become areas generating economic, cultural and social outcomes for residents and visitors alike.
- Strengthen public transport links to cultural institutions, creative spaces and venues, particularly from residential areas.
WQ 8.
What do you see as the most important transport challenges the Auckland Plan should give priority to and why?
- Strengthen public transport links to cultural institutions, creative spaces and venues, particularly from residential areas.
WQ 9.
How can the Mayor improve on the ideas and proposals for the Auckland Plan discussed in this document in order to ensure all Aucklanders enjoy a high and sustainable quality of life?
- Arts, culture and the creative sector play a central role in creating a high quality of life for Aucklanders. Participation in and through the arts, whether it is taking part in a community arts project or event, watching a film or a performance, listening to music, the arts make our life worth living: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=415521
WQ 10.
Does the discussion document identify all the strategic challenges Auckland faces, the issues related to those and the options for addressing them?
- It is recognised in the discussion document in areas throughout that the arts, culture and the creative sector has a role in the improvement quality of life and strengthening communities, in economic development, and in being a contributor to innovation. An issue for our sector is that we are poorly resourced (investment, venues, spaces for working and creating, public programmes), and that that resourcing is inconsistent across the region, arts genres and from organisation to organisation.
WQ 11.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the discussion document or planning for Auckland?
- That an overarching arts and culture/ creativity strategy and action plan be developed that is supported by Council’s policy, planning and delivery though Council proper as well as Local Boards and CCOs.
- In the planning for Auckland we would like a greater recognition and prioritisation of the arts, culture and creative sector as underpinning development and growth in many areas identified in and spanning the discussion document. The arts and creative sector is a driver to growth in tourism, the economy of the city, innovative thinking and conceptualisation in business and industry, as well as being both a catalyst for social change and the ‘glue’ that binds our communities. In addition, the arts and creative sector should also be a significant contributor to the planning of our built environment, urban design and heritage developments. Arts and creative expression make our lives rich and are crucial to creating the high quality standard of life that we all want in Auckland, as well as fostering a feeling of belonging and being part of the community.
Related Links
| Attachment | Size |
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| Auckland Unleashed Discussion Document Submission Guidelines for arts sector final.pdf | 237.77 KB |
