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RNZ News
a day ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Christchurch councillor says fighting government on housing was a 'balls-up'
Photo: RNZ / Niva Chittock Christchurch City Council has wasted years and millions of dollars while being distracted from more pressing priorities in its protracted fight with central government over housing intensification, Halswell Ward councillor Andrei Moore says. He characterised the whole affair as a costly "balls-up" which had held up the business of council and resulted in a confused policy allowing multi-storey apartment blocks in parts of suburban Christchurch, but not in areas neighbouring the city centre. However, Tony Simons - chair of a coalition of residents associations which campaigned against many of the measures - embraced being labelled a 'NIMBY' and warned the government's decision gave developers free rein. Three years ago the council rejected the policy introduced by the then-Labour government with support from the National Party to enforce sweeping intensification rules on swathes of Christchurch and other major cities in an effort to supercharge housing supply. Instead the following year, it notified a proposed change to the district plan - plan change 14 . More than 1000 submissions, government-appointed investigators , ombudsman complaints , multiple extensions and an independent hearing panel later, the council accepted many of the panels recommendations last year . However, the council rejected 20 of the hearing panel's recommendations, leaving the final decision in the hands of Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop. Last week, Bishop declined the vast majority of the council's wishes . The decision meant parts of the city - around larger suburban shopping centres - would be zoned for higher-density housing, predominantly apartments. Mayor Phil Mauger described the decision as a "kick in the guts" . The minister's decision cannot be appealed. The council's last potential recourse was to request a judicial review. Chris Bishop. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins But Moore said it was time to move on. "We've spent millions of dollars and four years, only to end up making a complete balls-up of the plan," he said. The council had been "trying its luck" with the ministerial referrals, "as opposed to basing them on meaningful evidence". It was difficult to estimate how much could have been saved if the council accepted the government's decision in 2022, but Moore said the extra spend would be substantial. "Our council ended up trying to oppose intensification basically everywhere it could - it wasn't very strategic," he said. The fight had also created a backlog of other work. "We've got this great big pile up of plan changes we need to be doing. The central city noise plan change , for example, ideally that would have got underway years ago," Moore said. The haphazard process had also resulted in anomalies. "We've ended up where you can build up to 10 storeys in an outer suburbs like Hornby, but in some areas surrounding the central city you can't build up at all, and frankly that's just stupid, and bad planning. "We knew what we were going to be made to do - to enable housing in the centre areas and on the transit routes - so we should have been enabling housing where we thought it made sense." It was unlikely high-rise apartment blocks would spring up in suburban Linwood, Hornby or Riccarton any time soon, Moore said. But he looked forward to some of the barriers to building apartment blocks being removed. "Apartments are often so much better designed than townhouses are, but because it's so hard to build them in Christchurch, they're not getting built." The bulk of new residential building in the city centre had been two- or three-storey townhouses, which he said were a "waste of space - that's exactly where you need to build up". Many opponents of the changes had "never had to take out an emergency loan to pay their rent", and others who wanted to develop semi-rural land were ignoring the cost of the infrastructure needed, Moore said. He said he was not concerned with the inevitable backlash from the residents' associations. "I struggle a lot more when people have nowhere to live." Combined Residents' Association chair and council candidate in this year's local elections, Tony Simons, agreed much of the multimillion-dollar exercise had been unnecessary, but for very different reasons. The city did not have a problem with housing supply, but rather an issue with housing affordability, he said. "Unfortunately, I don't believe plan change 14 is going to address housing affordability much at all. What it is really going to do - what Chris Bishop has decided - is to let developers build what they want, pretty much where they want, and that's a shame." He was disappointed the minister did not accept the council's proposed changes, which were "good for Christchurch". He had no problem with increasing density in the CBD, but said the type of intensification the changes allowed - smaller studio, one- and possibly two-bedroom units - were already oversupplied. "We're not building housing for families - if there is a housing supply shortage, it's probably in those sorts of properties in the inner city, which are slowly disappearing," he said. Simons did not resile from the 'NIMBY' ('not in my backyard') label. "When I talk about my backyard, I'm talking about Christchurch, not my own backyard. I'm talking about protecting the city, the fabric of Christchurch." Bill McKay Photo: Alexia Russell University of Auckland senior lecturer in architecture and planning Bill McKay said there would not be a flood of apartments built overnight. "When we make planning changes, it's like turning the tap on to fill the bath. It doesn't mean that… these changes will happen immediately everywhere," he said. "In this case we're turning the tap on for more density, meaning more apartment buildings, and that offers different lifestyles for people - I think that's a good thing because we've got a tonne of suburban housing in this country." Apartment developments had been more successful in boosting affordable, quality housing in Auckland, he said. "We've got some very good five-, six-storey apartment buildings going up in Auckland at the moment and they are a decent quality… you notice that once people buy into those apartment buildings because of the quality, because of the community, because of their location, they don't come up for sale much again, whereas the townhouses are more of a worry." The focus needed to be on the quality of development, McKay said. "It's not whether the apartment building or townhouse is good or bad, it's whether it's in the right place and crucially, whether it's built to a decent quality - otherwise we're just building slums for ourselves in the future." Sara Templeton Photo: Supplied / Christchurch City Council Heathcote Ward councillor and mayoral candidate Sara Templeton said the minister's decisions were not unexpected. It was important to plan properly for the future while listening to the community, and the process had been "really time consuming", she said. But it was "time that we get on with it". "We are due to grow by over 30,000 within Christchurch city in the next 10 years and these people need homes to live in, so the developers need certainty as to where they can provide those homes," she said. The council had until December to make a decision on Medium Density Residential Standards - which could allow three three-storey townhouses to be built without a consent. However, legislation to allow councils to opt out of the standards was working its way through Parliament. The law change was included in the government's second tranche of changes to the Resource Management Act, the Resource Management (Consenting and other System Changes) Amendment Bill, which was introduced under urgency and passed its first reading in December . The bill is with the Environment Select Committee, which is due to report back this month. 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RNZ News
4 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
'Kick in the guts': Government knocks back most of Christchurch council's housing plans
Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger says the government's knock-back of the council's housing plans is a "kick in the guts". Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon The mayor of Christchurch says a government knock-back on it's three year battle to create a custom carve-out of national housing intensification rules feels like a "kick in the guts", but others are welcoming the certainty of the move. On Friday, Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop issued a final decision on 17 of 20 recommendations the city council had referred after rejecting recommendations from an independent panel on the council's plan to shape a bespoke Christchurch response to national housing density policy). Minister Bishop rejected the bulk of the council's proposals. In 2021, the then-government released its National Policy Statement on Urban Development, a plan to ramp up housing intensification across most urban areas but focused on the five high growth centres of Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, amid bi-partisan support for the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, though the National Party would later withdraw its backing . The bill contained Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), which detail what development can occur without the need for resource consent, public notification and consultation in the areas identified as most in need of housing intensification. Those rules were intended to apply across all residential zones in those identified cities, unless "qualifying matters" made intensification inappropriate. In 2022, the council voted to reject the standards , despite warnings a commissioner could be appointed . Instead, the council began several years of consultation, submissions and hearings on Plan Change 14 - its proposed changes to the district plan that would give effect to the Medium Density Residential Standards, but in a way it claimed better acknowledged the character and context of the city. The council temporarily halted the process following the last election, and was later granted an extension until the end of this year on some aspescts of the plan change. Minister Bishop declined a further extension request last month. The council's stance culminated in an Independent Hearing Panel (IHP), which reported back in the middle of last year. The council accepted the majority of the IHP's recommendations, which were incorporated into the district plan. But it rejected various aspects of the proposed plan, making twenty counter-recommendations that went to the Minister. The minister announced on Friday he had rejected 14 of the council's recommendations, accepted three and deferred his decision on three more. Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop has rejected the bulk of the council's proposals. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins The decision means some parts of the city will be zoned higher-density housing and taller buildings, while the council will not be allowed to use several different "qualifying matters" to refuse consents even in high density zones - most controversially, one that hinged on the impediment of sunlight and proposed the Garden City should get an exemption because its southern location meant sunlight angles differ. Bishop's announcement locks in changes for areas in and around the CBD, and the "town centres" of Riccarton, Hornby and Linwood, which will be zoned high density residential. Taller buildings will be allowed within 600 metres of shopping areas in some suburbs - 32m (around ten storeys high) for the Hornby shopping area, 14m for high density residential zones surrounding the shopping area, 22m (around six storeys) for Linwood's town centre, and 14m for high density residential zones around it. The council's bids to create qualifying matters on the basis of sunlight access, recession planes (a line or plane which limits how close a building can be to a property boundary), or by location - such as 'the City Spine' (major transport routes) or Riccarton Bush - also failed. Nor did the minster accept areas around Peer Street in Ilam or the Papanui War Memorial Avenues should be excluded from density rules or allowed special consideration. The council proposals the minister did accept were Local Centre Intensification Precinct - intensification around eight of the city's commercial centres, including Barrington, Prestons and Wigram; increasing the building height overlay for the former stock yards site on Deans Avenue (a prime spot adjacent to Hagley Park, currently used as car parking for the Christchurch Hospital shuttle service) to up to 36m; and allowing high density residential zoning for Milton Street (the site of the Milton St substation, which Fletchers plans to build 80 homes on). All other council alternative recommendations were rejected in favour of the hearing panel recommendations. The minister has deferred decision-making for the heritage listing for Daresbury - a historic home in Fendalton; Antonio Hall - a derelict historic home on Riccarton Rd; and Piko Character Area - a Riccarton residential neighbourhood made up of many original state houses from the 1930s - until the council decided on the underlying zoning. "In putting these decisions forward to the government, we obviously wanted to get all of our alternative recommendations approved. So to only have three of them get the tick is a kick in the guts," mayor Phil Mauger said. "This plan change has been a huge undertaking for our city, and we've said right the way through that we want to get the best outcome we possibly can. This doesn't feel like the best outcome. "To that end, we'll keep working hard as a council, and there are still major decisions yet to be made when it comes to housing density and planning across much of Christchurch, so watch this space." The decisions come into effect immediately and cannot be appealed to the Environment Court. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon New Zealand has one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the OECD. Urbanist collective Greater Ōtautahi welcomed the minister's decision. Chairperson M Grace-Stent said the decision finally brought some certainty after years of delays, decision making, submissions and hearing panels. "What we're most excited about is that Ōtautahi Christchurch is set up for the future, it has certainty around where it can grow and where it can continue to develop in the future." The decision will not mean apartment buildings spring up overnight, they said. "It's still going to be a slow developing process, just as our cities always continually change. This is just another step." The city also needed to turn its attention to improving public transport. "Ōtautahi Christchurch definitely needs a reevaluation of its transport system. We've been calling for the introduction of mass rapid transport across the city to support and facilitate the kind of growth and development that needs to happen, and to make sure that everyone has a choice about how they're getting around the city and aren't forced to just pick cars." Grace-Stent said the debate touched on ideas embedded in the national psyche about how and where New Zealanders live. They said the quarter-acre dream of a stand alone house on a large section is unsustainable and doesn't not always produce greater social outcomes. "Not everyone wants to live the exact same lifestyle - allowing more housing to be built allows people to make that choice for themselves. So if people want to be living on 1/4 acre block, they're allowed to, and if people want to be living in an apartment close to their friends and amenities and where they work, they also have that choice." They acknowledged that some medium and high density housing is not built to high standards, but said some of that was due to limitations of the current zoning process, which can mean the lowest bidder builds on these sites. "This is just the first step into assuring that everyone has a home that is liveable and that works for them, and is good quality. There also needs to be changes throughout the way that we are think about housing and building houses across the country," Grace-Stent said. The decisions, which come into effect immediately, are final and cannot be appealed to the Environment Court. The council has until the end of the year to decide on density rules for the rest of the city. It was unable to confirm by deadline how much it had spent fighting the density rules, but had budgeted for $7 million dollars between 2021 and the middle of this year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Chris Bishop rejects Christchurch City Council's intensification rules
Chris Bishop. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The government has issued its final decision on Christchurch City Council's bid to carve its own path out of national housing intensification rules. Minister Chris Bishop rejected 14 of the council's 17 recommendations and deferred his decision on three more, after the council refused to accept all of the recommendations of an independent panel. The minister's decision will mean some parts of the city will be zoned higher-density housing, and the council won't be allowed to refuse consents based on sunlight access. Mayor Phil Mauger says the decision feels like a kick in the guts. The council has until the end of the year to decide on density rules for the rest of the city.
RNZ News
23-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Delayed Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre expected to cost $500 million
Photo: SUPPLIED / CROWN INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY The cost for a long-delayed sports centre in central Christchurch is expected to reach about $500 million, more than double the sum originally forecast. The new Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre is due to be completed in October, almost a decade later than planned. The project has been plagued by a littany of problems including construction headaches, unfavourable ground conditions, cost blowouts and legal wrangling. In a statement on Friday, Crown Infrastructure Delivery confirmed the centre was now 90 percent complete following the construction of a five-metre deep dive pool. The agency said it was expected to cost "around $500 million upon completion". Considered one of the city's main post-quake anchor projects, the centre was originally expected to be completed in 2016. However, a $75m budget blow-out saw a deal with a preferred contractor axed by the government, with the project later handed over to Crown-led project managers. Photo: SUPPLIED / CROWN INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY The delivery agency originally known as Ōtākaro Limited has had two re-brands over the course of construction, changing to Rau Paenga in 2023 and then Crown Infrastructure Delivery. Construction finally began in 2018 with a revised completion date of October 2021. This was revised to late-2023 as the pandemic presented further logistical obstacles. The situation sagged further by 2022 as contractors CPB claimed for an additional $212m, a figure that ballooned to $439m in 12 months. Both parties initially agreed on a contract price of $220m. CPB took legal action in a bid to terminate its agreement in 2023 after Crown Infrastructure Delivery rebuffed claims of sizeable cost increases. Lawyers for CPB described the situation as "a case where Humpty Dumpty could not be put back together again". Photo: SUPPLIED / CROWN INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY The High Court ruled against CPB barring the firm from suspending on-site construction works, with an appeal dropped in March 2024. The Christchurch City Council's contribution to the project has been capped at $147m. With the finish line in sight, Crown Infrastructure Delivery project director Alistair Young said they were starting to see several finishing touches to the project. "The structure's platform stands about three metres high, with the tallest decorative leaves reaching up to seven metres," he said. "It includes 36 different features - from lights and interactive water elements to three fun-filled slides. Surrounding the structure are an additional 28 ground-level water features, creating an engaging play zone for children of all ages." The 32,000 square metre centre will be the country's largest indoor sport and aquatics facility. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
23-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Delayed Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre expected to cost $5 million
Photo: SUPPLIED / CROWN INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY The cost for a long-delayed sports centre in central Christchurch is expected to reach about $500 million, more than double the sum originally forecast. The new Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre is due to be completed in October, almost a decade later than planned. The project has been plagued by a littany of problems including construction headaches, unfavourable ground conditions, cost blowouts and legal wrangling. In a statement on Friday, Crown Infrastructure Delivery confirmed the centre was now 90 percent complete following the construction of a five-metre deep dive pool. The agency said it was expected to cost "around $500 million upon completion". Considered one of the city's main post-quake anchor projects, the centre was originally expected to be completed in 2016. However, a $75m budget blow-out saw a deal with a preferred contractor axed by the government, with the project later handed over to Crown-led project managers. Photo: SUPPLIED / CROWN INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY The delivery agency originally known as Ōtākaro Limited has had two re-brands over the course of construction, changing to Rau Paenga in 2023 and then Crown Infrastructure Delivery. Construction finally began in 2018 with a revised completion date of October 2021. This was revised to late-2023 as the pandemic presented further logistical obstacles. The situation sagged further by 2022 as contractors CPB claimed for an additional $212m, a figure that ballooned to $439m in 12 months. Both parties initially agreed on a contract price of $220m. CPB took legal action in a bid to terminate its agreement in 2023 after Crown Infrastructure Delivery rebuffed claims of sizeable cost increases. Lawyers for CPB described the situation as "a case where Humpty Dumpty could not be put back together again". Photo: SUPPLIED / CROWN INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY The High Court ruled against CPB barring the firm from suspending on-site construction works, with an appeal dropped in March 2024. The Christchurch City Council's contribution to the project has been capped at $147m. With the finish line in sight, Crown Infrastructure Delivery project director Alistair Young said they were starting to see several finishing touches to the project. "The structure's platform stands about three metres high, with the tallest decorative leaves reaching up to seven metres," he said. "It includes 36 different features - from lights and interactive water elements to three fun-filled slides. Surrounding the structure are an additional 28 ground-level water features, creating an engaging play zone for children of all ages." The 32,000 square metre centre will be the country's largest indoor sport and aquatics facility. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
