On 12 May, Property Council submitted on Christchurch City Council’s Draft Plan Change, made in response to the National Policy Statement on Urban Development and Resource Management (Housing Supply) Amendments in relation to intensification.
Why it matters to our members
Property Council advocates for the creation and retention of a well-designed, functional and sustainable built environment. These policies will shape the future built environment of Christchurch for generations, influencing outcomes across the entire property sector eco-system.
Our view
Property Council is generally supportive of the proposed changes within the Draft Plan Change. However, we recommend that the Council do not adopt a district-wide engineering provision which would require water and network capacity checks for every development. A district-wide engineering provision could add a significant amount of red tape for development and result in delays for resource consents which anecdotally are currently taking six months for some of our members.
We also have concerns around feasibility of intensification when District Plan rules such as wind tests thresholds and financial contribution penalties for density limits may come into play. This could have adverse effects to Christchurch’s future skyline and amenity by resulting in developers only building to a certain height level.
We welcome the opportunity to work with Christchurch City Council in unpacking these issues with our members.