Thames-Coromandel District Council has endorsed a major planning document which will see future development on the peninsula focused in just three main urban hubs and discourage urban sprawl.

The Coromandel Peninsula Blueprint: Preferred Future document was put together by TCDC, Environment Waikato, Hauraki Whaanui and the Department of Conservation in a joint project which started in November, 2006. It has garnered widespread attention and has attracted more than 2000 public submissions.

The 'preferred future' outlined in the document was endorsed at today's Council meeting and will now go back to the community for feedback. It recommends TCDC and other agencies, including the regional council, take account of a number of issues when considering future land and marine use for the district, including:

- focusing future development in three main centres - Thames, Whitianga and Whangamata - allowing for more industrial development in areas like Coromandel town - boosting protection for heritage sites - encouraging the development of affordable housing - protecting water quality - allowing for plenty of parks, reserves and green space - protecting the peninsula's natural landscapes - discouraging urban sprawl and uncontrolled ribbon development.

Mayor Philippa Barriball said the Blueprint project was about giving power back to local communities and making sure all agencies and utilities - not just the district Council - were well aware of what's important to those who live and have properties in the Thames-Coromandel district. For example, Environment Waikato would have to consider Blueprint in terms of their Regional Policy Statement.

It will "boost protection" for communities, she said.

"This document will become an umbrella document for all future planning activities; it will have an enormous amount of weight," Mayor Barriball said.

"It is not an anti-development document in any way - we need development in the district. But we want to encourage the right kind of development; the type that protects our environment and our natural landscapes, the very things that make people want to live and visit here."

Mayor Barriball said that any suggestion that the preferred future outlined in Blueprint would stop development in areas other than Thames, Whitianga and Whangamata was "rubbish".

"In our District Plan, we've already allowed for significant growth in a number of areas like Matarangi and Tairua/Pauanui and have either got, or are getting the infrastructure in place for that growth. It's the same in Whangamata where the new waste water plant has the capacity to cope with predicted growth as well as deal with peak seasonal demand. What people have told us - overwhelmingly - is that they don't want growth for growth's sake and that other issues, including the protection of natural landscapes, need to be taken into account."

Mayor Barriball said the next stage in the Blueprint project was moving quickly into local area blueprints and ensuring that any district plan changes or zoning changes were actioned to take account of what was wanted in the future. "I see local area blueprints as turbo-charged community plans. People just want to get on with it and protect what we have as well as see the district grow in a managed way."