An investigator has been appointed to work with Christchurch City Council on its housing intensification plan after the previous Council refused to notify the plan change.
Associate Minister for the Environment, Phil Twyford said the aim of the investigation is to understand the issues with housing intensification in Christchurch and “explore a way forward” so the Council complies with the law.
“John Hardie is a skilled and experienced mediator with local knowledge of Christchurch City,” Mr Twyford said.
“Although we were disappointed with the decision made by the previous council not to notify a housing intensification plan change, the Government is committed to working with the new Mayor and the Christchurch City Council to find a path to delivering on increasing housing supply and affordability.”
Minister Twyford has also written to the new Christchurch Mayor, Phil Mauger, regarding the previous Council’s decision not to notify a housing intensification plan change.
The plan changes are part of implementing the National Policy Statement on Urban Development and incorporating the medium density residential standards, which were introduced through the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021.
Formal decisions will be made on the next steps over the coming weeks.
