How to accommodate an extra 170,000 people is a challenge facing the Waimakariri, Selwyn and Christchurch councils.
The three councils and their Greater Christchurch partners have collaborated to prepare a draft spatial plan to prepare for a population expected to exceed 700,000 by 2051.
The plan was endorsed by Environment Canterbury (ECan) at its council meeting yesterday, while the Waimakariri District Council endorsed the plan on Tuesday.
It will be out for consultation for six weeks during June and July.
Environment Canterbury senior strategy manager Jesse Burgess said the draft spatial plan was ‘‘a significant step forward’’ for Greater Christchurch.
‘‘The key through all of this has been the partnership and how we’ve all worked together,’’ he said.
The plan was looking to shift the focus from greenfields development and into higher density housing, in line with recent government legislation.
Mr Burgess noted there was ‘‘a fair bit of water to go under the bridge’’ with Resource Management Act reform and ECan reviewing its regional policy statement.
But he said the draft spatial plan allowed the councils to get ahead of the game, before a regional spatial plan was developed as proposed in the reform.
The draft plan builds on the recent Huihui Mai Greater Christchurch engagement, which received more than 7000 responses, and recent reports on housing and commercial / industrial capacity in the region.
The Whakawhanake Kāinga Komiti (Greater Christchurch) is a partnership between the Waimakariri and Selwyn District Councils, Christchurch City Council, ECan, Ngāi Tahu, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury and two government ministers.
ECan Crs Tutehounuku Korako and Iaean Cranwell praised the consultation with Ngāi Tahu and the Papatipu Rūnanga, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Taumutu and Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke (Rāpaki) in developing the draft plan.
Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon said the Greater Christchurch councils faced significant challenges from ongoing growth.
‘‘The spatial plan has been informed by what our residents wish for their future, and will help create better connected urban communities, more efficient and reliable public transport, a lower impact on the environment from new building, and overall a better quality of life for residents.
‘‘We are looking forward to seeing what the residents of Greater Christchurch think about this proposal and I’d strongly encourage everyone to have their say.’’
With a present population of about 530,000, an extra 77,000 houses would need to be built over the next 28 years to accommodate the growth.
The growing population was expected to become more ethnically diverse, with people identifying as Māori, Pacifica and Asian forming a greater share of young people and the working-age population by 2051.
An ageing and more diverse population would also require a range of housing types and models of community living, the draft plan document says.
The population was also expected to double to pass 1 million within 60 years.
- By David Hill
Local Democracy Reporter
Public interest journalism funded through New Zealand on Air.
