Government choosing ‘greed’ over local views
Tuesday, 8 October 2024
The “greed” of property developers is being chosen over local wishes through the Government’s fast track bill, elected members in Greater Christchurch say.
They have also raised concerns about flood risk with one North Canterbury development which made the list, plus the doubling of the population of a rural town if the project is approved.
The Government released a list of 149 projects it wants to “fast track” into fruition on Sunday, five of which are housing developments within 30 minutes of Christchurch.
Being on the list does not guarantee the project gets approved - applications will still be considered by an expert panel - but Waimakariri and Selwyn district councillors are concerned they’ll be “left holding the baby” when infrastructure can’t keep up.
Three of the projects - two of which belong to the Carter Group - have already been rejected by district councils.
One project, featuring 850 homes, a commercial centre, school and potential retirement village, could double the population of Ōhoka, a rural town 25km from Christchurch.
Its inclusion on the fast track list made a “mockery” of local control over planning processes, said Waimakariri councillor Al Blackie.
The way Blackie saw it, a group of independent experts already rejected it, and the Government was letting Carter Group - who had been fighting council for years - get another crack.
He and Sarah Barkle, chair of the Oxford-Ōhoka community board, said the development was a recipe for disaster.
There were significant flooding issues that were not captured in the modelling the fast-track experts were looking at, Barkle said.
The flood modelling used by the Carter Group said the flood hazard was low and that water would only rise up 20mm around houses at the most during 200-year weather events.
But one local man who has been measuring the flooding for more than a year found the water regularly rising up to 210mm.
Barkle said the reason was due to Ōhoka being built on an underground river.
“Really, you’re building on a river, which you wouldn’t do if you could see it.
“If someone’s sitting at their desk they don’t know the area. It’s just going to create a headache for us when the developer is gone.”
Near Woodend, another potential development of 1500 properties was green lit to start the fast-track process, even though a hearing commissioners’ report recommended it was rejected in July, due to infrastructure issues.
Suburban Estates Ltd, run by Chris Wilson, and landowners Anne and Brian Stokes had applied for 144h of rural land near Ravenswood on Gressons Rd to be rezoned to medium and general residential.
Anne Stokes declined to comment.
About 10km away, in Rangiora, the West Rangiora Residential Development off Oxford Rd - with a potential 780 homes to be built on 40h of rural land - also made the fast track list.
Cr Malcolm Lyall, deputy mayor of Selwyn, said the Government’s attempts to help developers override local decision-making was enabling “greed in its worst form”.
Lyall has represented Prebbleton - just north of where Birchs Village Ltd wants to build 850 homes - for 30 years. He has overseen massive growth, but now asked “where does it stop?”
He said the council rejected Birchs Village because the district had already earmarked 30 years worth of housing growth elsewhere.
The Birchs Rd land also had high quality soil worthy of protecting, he said, and locals were already dealing with 20,000 cars a day driving down Springs Rd, which ran parallel to Birchs Rd between Prebbleton and Lincoln.
There was only about 5 kilometres of Birchs Rd between the two townships. The council had been careful about restricting growth so that the two towns didn’t merge into “Lincolnton”, Lyall said.
He said engineers “would have to scramble” to make sure council infrastructure would cope with the influx of unplanned houses.
“As usual, the council will be left holding the baby,” he said.
Selwyn mayor Sam Broughton said people elected local leaders to make local decisions, based on local knowledge.
One thing locals were clearly telling them, he said, was to build taller and stop the sprawl into rural zones. An influx of 4200 new homes in Rolleston West - a Carter Group project which the council had already rejected - could cause issues.
He said the huge investment in housing hadn’t been matched with investment in services and added that the Government needed to think beyond “just a house with a street” and invest more in hospital beds, schools, public transport and police.
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said New Zealand had a housing crisis and the “idea that it is greedy to build houses for people who want and need them is wrong.”
Responding to Broughton’s criticisms about investment in services, Bishop said infrastructure funding was a “separate question” and there would be “more to say soon” on that topic.
Bishop also pointed out that each of the 149 projects was “recommended by the independent Advisory Group and then confirmed by Cabinet.
“Once the Bill passes into law, each project’s owner can apply to the EPA to have an Expert Panel assess the project, decide whether it receives consent, and then attach any necessary conditions for the relevant approvals.”
On Monday afternoon, The Press reached out to the Carter Group for comment on the concerns raised by local politicians.
CORRECTION: Suburban Estates is run by managing director Chris Wilson, not Anne and Brian Stokes. (Amended 5.30pm, Monday October 14, 2024)