Outrage at plans to allow 10-storey buildings in three Christchurch suburbs

Tuesday, 29 August 2023

Buildings up to 10 storeys high will be allowed in parts of Hornby, Riccarton and Papanui if Christchurch City Council has its way.

Community leaders are outraged and say the new plans will create “slums and concrete jungles”.

The council is working through changes to the district plan to allow for more housing intensification across the city, following a Government directive.

It went out to public consultation earlier this year on a plan that included allowing six-storey (22m) buildings within 600m of main shopping areas in Hornby, Papanui, and Riccarton - a move which was opposed by residents’ associations.

But last week staff informed councillors, in a memo, that they would instead be recommending 10-storey buildings, 32m high, within the three main shopping areas. It was also recommending 22m-high buildings, 800m from the edge of those main shopping areas.

The change came as a shock to councillor Mark Peters, who represents Hornby.

He said he had no idea the higher height limit was being considered, especially when people were unhappy with the original six storeys.

“Up to 10 storeys? It changes the whole character and landscape of the suburbs,” he said.

“That is creating a whole new CBD, downtown environment, and that’s just not what the suburbs are. We do not need concrete jungles.”

He agreed the city needed to intensify its housing, but said it needed to do so on its own terms rather than being forced by the Government to impose rules more suited to Auckland and Wellington.

Greater Hornby Residents’ Association members Ross Houliston and Marc Duff both shared Peters’ concerns.

The association was already opposed to the six storeys, and Houliston said the new plans were “absolute lunacy” and would end up driving people out of Christchurch.

“We are likely to see slums like they have in England and the United States.”

Duff said the council’s move was a “two-finger salute” to the people of Hornby.

“This will change the fabric and make up of Hornby that is special and unique and has been built up over many years.”

Mayor Phil Mauger said he could understand that some people were upset with the new recommendations. He would not say what his view on them was.

“I can’t pre-determine anything, otherwise I’ll get shot.”

In Shirley, Linwood and North Halswell, the council is now proposing to allow buildings up to 22m within 600m of the main shopping centre, instead of to 20m within 400m.

In the central city, there would be a height limit of 90m (30 storeys) and 39m depending on the location, but anything above 28m would need a resource consent.

The tallest building in Christchurch, which houses the Rendezvous Hotel in Gloucester St, is 86.5m tall. The Crowne Plaza on the corner of Armagh and Colombo streets is 71m.

Other areas within the four avenues had height limits recommended by council staff of either 32m or 21m.

Council head of planning and consents John Higgins said the changes recommended had come about from further evaluation of the centres and their surrounds, and took into account the 1000 submissions received on the plan change.

He said the changes were required within the Government’s National Policy Statement for Urban Development.

“NPS-UD requires a degree of intensification that is proportionate to the scale of services and facilities provided within commercial centres, both now and potential future scale.”

In September last year the council controversially decided not to adopt the Government’s density rules, which allowed up to three homes of three storeys to go up in most of the city without a resource consent, and higher limits in the central city and suburban commercial hubs.

Council staff worked on a more palatable proposal, which was released in February. The proposal took into account Christchurch’s sunlight levels and restricted developments in areas that were too far from public transport, or were at risk of flooding or rockfall.

It still allowed for three dwellings of up to three storeys to be built without consent in large parts of the rest of the city classed as being within a walkable distance to public transport links.

The issue has been one of the city's most controversial in recent years, with more than 20 residents’ groups opposing the Government directive.

Halswell Hornby Riccarton community board chairperson Helen Broughton said she was concerned that only people who made submissions earlier this year would be able to have a say on the changes recommended by the council.

The council’s revised recommendations will be considered by an independent hearings panel, which will make a recommendation to the council in April next year following a series of public hearings in October, November, January and February.

*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said 32m high buildings were proposed within 800m of the main shopping areas in Hornby, Papanui and Riccarton. Buildings of that height will only be allowed within those main shopping areas, while a height limit of 22m is proposed up to 800m from the edge of those shopping areas. (Amended 5.24pm, August 30, 2023)