From 1861 to 2010 the Franklin District was controlled by it’s own local body government. A lot of residents still refer to the ‘Franklin’ name’s existence believing that becoming part of the Auckland ‘supercity’ would somehow rob the people of their historical identity.

So what is the future plans and how will the influx of immigrants to the region affect the living standards, traffic flow, employment opportunities and other issues that may arise?

Here are a few stats from the 2013 census to think  about.

Housing

The average value of housing in Franklin in April 2015 was $500,344 and increased 18.7% to $594,022 in 2016.

In May 2018 the average is $667,803 which is 33% higher than 2015. Auckland average May 2018 was $1,054,729 with the national average being $677,996 (1).

By 2025, there will be a projected 19,000 new dwellings in the Franklin area. Some of these new suburbs include Wesley College,  Belmont, Anselmi Ridge, McLain Road Glenbrook, Bremner Road Drury, Quarry Road Drury, Clarks Beach. 

71.9% of households in occupied private dwellings owned the dwelling or held it in a family trust. The NZ average is 64.8%.

The median weekly rent paid was $320. This compared with $280 for New Zealand as a whole.

Population

The 2013 census says 65,319 people usually live in the Franklin Area (8,175 Māori or 12.5%).

This is an increase of 6,717 people, or 11.5 percent, since the 2006 Census

Projections for 2021 are at 77,865 or an increase of 19% (2).

Traffic

If you think there’s a lot of traffic lately that’s because 24.9 % of households in Franklin has access to 3 or more vehicles compared with 16.1 % of all households in New Zealand.

67.5% use a private vehicle to get to work. 21.1% use a company vehicle.

Family

Definitely a family friendly region, couples with children make up 45.2 % of all families in Franklin.

The NZ average is 41.3%. 14.8% of families have one parent, where is the NZ average is 17.8%.

Business

There are 8,828 business locations in Franklin which is an increase of 3.2% from 2006. There were 19,076 paid employees, an increase of 6.8% from 2006.

The top five industries are manufacturing 15.5%, retail trade 11.2%, agriculture, forestry and fishing 10.7%, construction 9% and education and training 9%.

Summary

Although the stats shows positive growth in most areas. The escalating house prices and inadequate roading and public transport  seems to be the most unfortunate side effects of this growing district. Also the green belt along Station Road is in danger of getting turned into housing if the horsing training tracks get rezoned and sold.

What do you think will be the major issues concerning the standard of living in the Franklin District?

Click here for an article about Wesley Town

*All information taken from

http://www.stats.govt.nz/, http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, 

http://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz, http://www.qv.co.nz.