Sleepyhead Estate consists of 176 hectares of marginal rural land which will be remediated and transformed into a mixed-use community.
Sleepyhead Estate will create in excess of 2,600 new jobs for the local community.
Investment in infrastructure, construction of industrial outlet stores and homes, development of open space and streets will pump 1.2 billion dollars of investment into the local economy.
A mixture of freestanding and attached homes will offer a diverse range of housing choices at a variable range of achievable levels.
A sustainable community is one that cares for its people, cares for the land and endures. It balances social, economic, cultural and environmental needs. Sleepyhead Estate will provide employment, housing, recreational areas, social services and key conveniences for people to live, work and play here. It will improve environmental outcomes and create extensive restoration areas which will improve the water quality of run-off flowing into Lake Waikare.
A varied and robust transport network is critical for any new green-fields development. Sleepyhead Estate will provide daily necessities for residents such as a corner shop, access to the local primary school, employment, a community hall, social services, emergency services and convenience retail on site. These facilities will be in close proximity to where people live and connected through a series of walking and cycling paths. Easy access to the Waikato Expressway is also available and the opportunity for inter-city bus and train connections will be strongly advocated. A rail siding is proposed to connect the industrial hub to the international ports at Auckland and Tauranga via rail transport. Sleepyhead Estate will form strong connections to Huntly and assist in the re-vitalization of this community.
Sleepyhead Estate seeks to foster its own identity while respecting the identity, character and mana whenua values of the wider region. It will draw reference from working towns of the past which provided the facilities for workers and residents to live happy and productive lives. Mana whenua narratives will be evident in its public spaces and the region’s history will be strongly represented. Mana whenua will be involved in the creation of this place and specific facilities will be developed in collaboration with them, to help train youth to improve their employment options.
The project needs to be commercially feasible to deliver on any of these principles or on the project vision. Opportunities for effective and efficient use of resources must be explored but never at the cost of quality. There are opportunities to leverage economies of scale for a project of this size. Ongoing efficient use of resource, monetary and otherwise, is critical to seeing this project through to fruition. Development efficiencies will be passed on to the people buying houses or running businesses here and will ensure the long term economic sustainability and success of the project.
Health and wellbeing of people living and working at Sleepyhead Estate is critical. Social and community services, active lifestyles, quality fresh produce, healthy homes and gainful employment have all been considered and incorporated into this masterplan. A market garden to provide healthy fresh food, productive beekeeping and a small scale seedling planting initiative to provide honey and firewood are proposed as community-led, commercial activities.
High quality, affordable housing, in conjunction with good employment opportunities, are very important to the success of this community. Best practice approaches to housing affordability must be explored, including non-traditional ownership models such as shared-equity ownership, rent-to-buy and community-led housing initiatives. Economies of scale will also assist as will the ability to prefabricate some house components in factories located on-site. The efficient use of land and a high proportion of attached housing will also help to ensure housing remains affordable. Large areas of public and semi-private open spaces will provide high amenity value and make up for a smaller lot size.
Choice has been integrated into every aspect of the Masterplan. Neighbourhoods with differing densities and orientations, different sizes, differing house typologies and varying functions of open space will create a robust community where people can choose how they live. Multiple commercial opportunities have also been proposed along with transport modes to provide further choices for people living here.
A key driver of this project is the commitment to improve water quality runoff and create a large wetland ecosystem to the east of the site. This land is naturally low lying and is very well suited to cleaning on site stormwater and creating restored natural habitats. Environmental outcomes will be considered across the full project site, including private lots, public streets and across the open space network.
