Nearby councils could sink plans for new solar homes in satellite town

Friday, 18 February 2022

West Melton, a 20km drive from central Christchurch, is the site of disagreement among councils about housing development.

Plans for 130 new solar-powered homes approved by a Canterbury council could be scuttled by objections from outside councils.

Last week, the Selwyn District Council agreed with an independent commissioner’s recommendation to rezone 33 hectares of rural land for new sections at West Melton, just west of Christchurch and inside the city’s commuter belt.

The approval has come despite the Christchurch City Council and regional council Environment Canterbury (ECan) objecting to the rezoning.

Developer GW Wilfield Ltd owns the land, which is less than 4 kilometres from Christchurch city’s boundary and a 20km drive from the central city.

* Houses and schools needed to meet growing Greater Christchurch demand

* More housing density proposed for Selwyn's town centres

* Changes needed to stop Christchurch congestion as population grows

Developers want to expand Faringdon subdivision in Rolleston, but neighbouring councils object.

In his decision, commissioner David Caldwell said the area had “clearly insufficient capacity to meet demand” for housing sites.

The planned subdivision would provide “additional supply and choice in the residential housing market” and give the district an economic boost, he said.

Lawyers for the city and regional councils told the planning hearing they had concerns about urban sprawl, access to public transport, gas emissions, development on fertile land, housing density, and increased pressure on city roads.

The Selwyn district has seen a large amount of housing development in the past decade.

They prefer new homes to be in a range of housing densities near public transport and cycling routes.

Christchurch’s submission argued that West Melton was not earmarked for new housing in the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement, a plan of how resources are managed in the region. The developer’s plans also did not fit the aims of the Government’s National Policy Statement on Urban Development to have public or active transport link housing with, jobs, community services, and open spaces, the city’s submission said.

Both councils have previously objected to other rezoning bids that would establish several thousand homes at Selwyn. The district is one of New Zealand's fastest growing, with its estimated 73,000 population double pre-quake numbers and big subdivisions in Rolleston and Lincoln townships.

They have objected to current applications from developers including Hughes Developments and the Gould Group at Rolleston, the Carter Group at Lincoln, and a collection of landowners at Prebbleton.

As soon as Selwyn publicly notifies its West Melton decision, the objectors will have 30 days to appeal to the Environment Court.

A spokesman for ECan said it has not yet made a decision on whether to lodge an appeal.

The city council’s head of planning and consents, John Higgins, said the council had not made a decision either. It had also not decided whether councillors or senior staff would handle the matter, Higgins said.

GW Wilfield director Hamish Whelans said if it went ahead, the subdivision would be built over 12 to 24 months.

Covenants on the sections would require homeowner to install rainwater tanks and solar power generation, and plant at least 15 per cent of their land with native plants, he said.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw announces the Government has released its draft carbon-cutting ideas to the public, so everyone can have a say. Video first published October 2021.

“These additional covenants acknowledge that new housing does create a carbon footprint however these measures will lessen that footprint as much as reasonably practicable.”

Selwyn district figures show West Melton had the district’s fastest rising house prices, increasing 45 per cent in a year.

Whelans said would-be buyers had been frustrated for some time by the lack of options and availability of sections in the area.

He said the shortage was boosting land prices for sections he had previously developed at West Melton.

“We have seen on-sales of sections at 50 per cent premium to the price that we sold the same section for months earlier. Unless supply is made available, this escalation of prices will continue.”

In a submission to the Greater Christchurch Partnership’s housing plan in 2018, Whelan said the supply of land in Christchurch was too constrained, in particular by the development ban along airport flight paths, and nearby towns of West Melton should be allowed to expand.

His submission said that while units were being seen as the solution to new housing in Christchurch, in reality that was only 15 to 20 per cent of demand.

His company’s application is just one of 17 before the Selwyn council, which together would create almost 11,000 new home sites.

One of these, the rezoning of land for new housing in Leeston has been approved and takes effect this week.

Christchurch City councillor and mayoral hopeful Phil Mauger said Christchurch needed housing and the city council should not be challenging developments in neighbouring districts.

“We need more sections; Christchurch doesn’t have enough, and it's our fault. Selwyn and Waimakariri [districts] have the land.”

Mauger also said city council staff should not be wasting time objecting to other authorities housing plans.

“Our staff have got better things to do than appeal against something that is a foregone conclusion.”