Momentum Planning and Design

We are a team of interdisciplinary professionals, who have experience in planning, landscape architecture, and urban design. Our approach is to focus on the desired outcome and to find pathways and solutions that achieve this outcome, while working within the constraints of each project.

Strategic and detailed consideration of the combination of project goals, site and surrounding contextual factors, and opportunities and constraints to respond to, is required to deliver quality master planned developments. This is assisted by urban design assessments to deliver on contemporary best practice and guidance, at all interfaces, activity areas and features within a master plan project. MPAD has been involved in numerous master planning and urban design projects and has worked closely with other sub-consultants, stakeholders and mana whenua to achieve successful outcomes for our clients and the receiving environment. MPAD also regularly provides urban design advice to independent projects traversing the design journey.

The MPAD team has extensive experience in preparing resource consent applications for a wide range and scale of activities. This varies from small breaches of planning standards to large resource consents with complicated environmental issues to address.  Resource consent can be required from either City/District and/or Regional councils.

We prepare consent applications and regularly compile, or lead project teams tailored to the requirements of the proposal.  We coordinate these multi-disciplinary project teams and use our in-house planning, urban design, and landscaping expertise to ensure a thorough Assessment of Environmental Effects is prepared to support a resource consent application.

Plan Changes are a useful and efficient planning tool to make sure the zoning of land and the corresponding planning rules remain fir-for-purpose to respond to market demand for land-use. MPAD has led the preparation of several private Plan Changes to rezone land within and adjacent to urban growth areas. These Plan Changes have included amendments or introductions of residential and industrial zones. In addition to preparing private Plan Changes, MPAD has also worked closely with clients to submit on Council-initiated Plan Changes to ensure our clients’ interests are considered and provided for.

MPAD has carried out due diligence and feasibility analysis on multiple projects to assist our clients to make informed decisions and assess consenting risks. This involves the assessing of various factors including the planning framework, environmental constraints, design opportunities, infrastructure capacity, financial contributions and quantifying overall consent risks. Most importantly however, it requires a thorough understanding of the operative planning context, and how this will likely develop in the future. MPAD’s knowledge and expertise in these areas has allowed them to give our clients the reassurance they need to make a decision on their site or project.

MPAD’s Landscape Architects have carried out a number of Landscape and Visual Impact Assessments (LVIA) to determine how developments align with their surrounding context, and how their potential effects can be mitigated through layout and landscape mitigation.  These assessments require careful consideration of the existing context but also of how it may develop in the future. This is particularly relevant in the context of residential intensification in urban or rural environments, as it requires balancing the constant housing demand with maintaining the area’s character and environmental composition. Private visual amenity at individual receptors is also addressed through this process.

MPAD has completed the landscape design for numerous projects, including for residential development, retirement villages, and public spaces. While the creation of visually appealing, high-amenity and functional places is of utmost importance, they also need to be practical and durable. This requires careful analysis of the end use of a site and the climatic conditions the landscape products will be exposed to. As a result, MPAD seeks to provide bespoke recommendations for each project, that are tailored to address the opportunities and constraints of each development site.