Rezoning tick despite opposition
Up to 1000 new homes look set to be approved for the outskirts of Christchurch as the greater city area continues to grow.
Despite opposition from the Christchurch City Council and Environment Canterbury (ECan), an independent hearing commissioner has recommended the Selwyn District Council approve an application to rezone land for between 820 and 1040 homes at Prebbleton, south of Christchurch.
Councillors have yet to consider the recommendation.
The decision brings the number of new residential sections either approved or going through the rezoning process in the Selwyn District to about 10,500.
New subdivisions are also being approved for the Waimakariri District, north of Christchurch, but in smaller numbers than in Selwyn.
The 209-section Bellgrove subdivision in northeast Rangiora, in the Waimakariri District, has been fast-tracked for development. It would cover 156 hectares.
A rezoning request for an 850-section development at Ohoka, north of the city, has just been notified for public submissions.
The Prebbleton recommendation covers 68ha of rural land bordered by Hamptons, Shands and Trents roads, alongside the Sterling Park subdivision.
Developers Urban Holdings Ltd, Suburban Estates Ltd and Cairnbrae Developments Ltd plan to build their subdivision on what is now a rural block containing 13 properties. The bulk of the planned sections in the development average 650m2.
The nearby town of Lincoln is already set to almost double in size, after the Selwyn council gave the green light to a 1700-lot housing development by approving a plan change to rezone 186ha of rural land for residential use.
Rolleston Industrial Developments – owned by Carter Group, a Christchurch developer – first applied for the plan change to create the 2000-lot Lincoln subdivision in late 2020. That number was later revised to 1710 lots with a small commercial zone.
After an independent commissioner gave the Carter Group development his stamp of approval, it was approved by the district council. The decision could be appealed to the Environment Court before August 4.
Analysis by the Christchurch City and Selwyn and Waimakariri district councils, released last August, concluded that greater Christchurch will need 77,000 more homes in the next 30 years, as the greater city’s population continues to grow.
The Christchurch City Council and ECan have recently objected to several rezoning applications outside the city boundaries.
In February, the Selwyn council agreed with an independent commissioner’s recommendation to rezone 33ha of rural land for new sections at West Melton, just west of Christchurch and inside the city’s commuter belt. This was in spite of a combined objection from the city council and ECan.
Most of the other applications for rezoning for housing subdivisions in the Selwyn District are for the towns of Rolleston or Lincoln.
Rolleston alone has eight applications for land rezoning for new subdivisions.
Making a joint submission on the Prebbleton application, the city council and ECan said approval would have an impact on the city’s roads and would cause traffic congestion. New housing developments should not be approved ahead of adequate public transport services, the submission said.
In their application, the developers said there was high demand for new homes in Selwyn, and the towns of Prebbleton, Lincoln and Rolleston together created an urban area, qualifying it for housing growth under central government guidelines.
In his decision, the commissioner noted that the Government’s national policy statement on urban development requires councils to provide ‘‘sufficient capacity’’ for housing development. It also requires their decisions to be responsive to that policy.
From August this year, councils in the main cities will also be required to accept developments of up to three homes of three storeys each in most parts of town, in line with new central government laws.