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STACY SQUIRES / Stuff
The Christchurch City Council is against a new government policy that requires it to increase housing density and remove requirements for developments to provide parking.
Christchurch city leaders criticized a new government policy to increase housing density, with one councilor describing the move as “horribly deaf.”
Another is to encourage residents to “stand up” and tell their local MPs that “Auckland politics” has no place in Christchurch.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel and her 16 councilors are united in their disapproval of the government’s national policy that aims to increase housing density and encourage development in places close to public transportation.
Dalziel said he felt “extreme frustration” with the central government imposing “Auckland rules” on the rest of the country, particularly Christchurch, which only adopted a new district plan four years ago.
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“It seems infuriating, particularly when over-escalation is a big problem for our residents and something we are committed to addressing.”
The National Policy Statement (NPS) on urban development, released in July, will prevent Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch and Hamilton city councils from setting height limits for buildings of less than six stories in central areas and along corridors of transport.
It also obliges local authorities to accept developments without parking (except mobility parks) and to increase density in other areas.
The councils have until August 2022 to move forward with a plan change to implement the rules.
STACY SQUIRES / Stuff
Cars forced to park on the street and berm in a medium-density area in Riccarton.
But Cr James Gough said the NPS is nothing more than a statement of “Auckland policy”.
“Some of our biggest planning problems in this city relate to parking or lack thereof and deeply inappropriate escalation in residential areas, so this will only exacerbate what is already broken.
“I want to put on record how horribly deaf I think this Auckland policy statement is.”
Cr Sam MacDonald urged Christchurch residents to contact their local MPs because there was absolutely no excuse for the new rules to apply to Christchurch.
“Everyone in the city can literally stand up and write to MPs and change something.”
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / THINGS
A development on a residential street in Merivale, Christchurch, has locals concerned, but developer Williams Corporation says it will be “fantastic” for the area. (First published February 2020)
Deputy Mayor Andrew Turner said the NPS was designed to deal with a demand problem that did not exist in Christchurch and that the policy did not fit well with the city.
The mayor said that she was not against building escalation, but that she had a problem with over-building.
Despite the council’s opposition to the NPS, there appear to be few avenues available to combat it.
The authority has asked staff to look at what exceptions are available within the NPS, and has requested a meeting with MPs to raise concerns.
In September, the council said it was considering proposing a change to the district’s plan to avoid excessive escalation and to make sure the developments provide residential services.
The move came after a series of complaints from residents who have long complained that intensive development is underway on properties where a single home used to be.
In September, a scathing report was released on the design of new residential apartments that have been built in Christchurch’s mid- and high-density areas since 2016.
