Wellingtonians will gain access to a huge new recreation and conservation wonderland under proposed plans to develop the Silverstream Forest in Upper Hutt.

The family behind Guildford Timber Company (GTC) has owned the Silverstream Forest since 1926 and wants to transform it from a pine plantation to a new sustainably-built Upper Hutt suburb with space for between 1500 – 2000 new homes spread across five neigbourhoods.

Only 35% of the 313-hectare site would be used for housing development, including roads, with the remainder being publicly accessible green space featuring more than 180 hectares of existing and regenerating native forest.

Director Craig Martell says the development is purposefully designed to draw people into nature, with the masterplan providing for 16km of walking and mountain biking trails that would connect with neighbouring reserves, stretching into Lower Hutt and south to Wainuiomata.

“This project has been nearly 20 years in the making and still has some hurdles to clear, but we’re genuinely excited to now be in the position to showcase more of our vision with Wellingtonians,” Mr Martell says.

“We have mapped out a mixed-density development that reflects our ethos of living with and in nature. We have always wanted to open the site up and bring the public into the forest to enjoy it themselves, whether to walk, bike or just relax.

“Over the past 30 years GTC has been gradually replanting the forest with natives, with more than 30,000 trees already planted to date and more to follow as the pine forest is felled. Our dream is to create predator-controlled reserves on site that will eventually be suitable to rehome Kiwi and other native wildlife.”

GTC’s plan involves staging the development over five phases and 15+ years, helping to tackle the 90,000 new homes Wellington is going to need to manage its anticipated population growth through to 2050.

“In total, this would be a roughly $1.5 billion investment in Wellington. We estimate up to $480 million will be spent in the local economy, directly creating 200 full-time construction jobs for at least 15 years and indirectly supporting hundreds of more jobs in local companies,” Mr Martell says.

“Having spent several years listening and learning from the local community we know there are some who hold genuine concerns about whether Upper Hutt’s physical and social infrastructure can handle this project. We have tackled a lot of these core questions recently and will be providing answers for the community on our website this week. Importantly, this is fully funded private infrastructure, with zero cost to ratepayers, and further upside including the potential to upgrade water infrastructure that serves the wider area.”

For the development to proceed, GTC is asking Upper Hutt City Council to enable a roading corridor on the Silverstream Spur to connect the new suburb to the railway network, State Highway 2 and other facilities.

The new road would use approximately 10% of the 35-hectare Spur – land which is nearly entirely unmanaged exotic pine forest. In doing so it would unlock the whole of Silverstream Forest for public use and native regeneration, creating a substantial net ecological benefit.

“We have been guided by the Council on this project since 2007 and while last year’s election brought change, we remain confident that Silverstream Forest is exactly the type of development the region needs given the clear recreational, environmental and community benefits it will deliver.

“Ultimately, this comes down to whether we enable access through a small portion of pine forest to unlock a much larger area of native bush, recreation assets and new quality, affordable homes for the region. We look forward to working with the community to make it happen.”

A “thank you” to Christian Bonnevie from Shanahan Partners for sending this article to The Upper Hutt Connection.

13/05/26