Government spares Christchurch from city-wide housing intensification

Monday, 10 November 2025

Housing intensification will be centred around the city’s main suburban commercial centres following an exemption from the Government.

Christchurch has been spared from city-wide housing intensification after being granted an exemption from the Government.

But higher housing density rules will still encompass a quarter of the city’s residential areas.

The decision, announced by RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop on Monday, means intensification will be limited to areas including the city centre, Church Corner, Riccarton, Hornby, Linwood, Shirley, Merivale, Edgeware, and Papanui.

Plan Change 14, notified in March 2023 to abide by new rules announced by the previous government, could have enabled three, three-storey homes to be built without a resource consent across the city, to meet housing demand.

However, Christchurch argued strongly that the one-size-fits-all approach was not the right approach.

A larger part of Riccarton will be rezoned to allow for higher density housing as other parts of the city are spared.

In August, the Government passed a new bill allowing Christchurch to withdraw PC14, but only if the council could prove it had 30 years of sufficient feasible housing capacity plus 20%.

In Christchurch, that amounted to 65,640 homes.

Bishop said on Monday that the council had presented the Government with a housing plan that provided capacity for at least 68,200 homes.

“Based on advice from officials, including two peer reviews provided by the council from Urbanomics and Sense Partners, I have decided that the council has met this requirement.”

He said Christchurch was a “vibrant, fast-growing city” that was “booming with energy and opportunity”.

“People are flocking to Christchurch for the lifestyle, the jobs, the culture, and the buzz of a city that’s really coming into its own. With the new Te Kaha stadium nearing completion, thriving universities, and the vibrant city centre hospitality scene, Christchurch needs more homes in the right places to keep pace with its growth.”

He said freeing up land for development by removing unnecessary planning barriers was essential to increasing housing supply.

“The evidence is clear that more housing capacity leads to more homes being built, which helps bring down rents and make housing more affordable. The council has delivered on this, and it’s a great result for the city.”

Mayor Phil Mauger, right, has thanked RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop, left, for his “pragmatic decision” to spare Christchurch from housing intensification demands.

Christchurch City Council said total medium density zoning has increased by 50% under PC14, now making up almost a quarter of all residential zones.

The decisions to date enable intensification in the right places, supporting public transport and the more efficient investment and management in infrastructure, it said.

Mayor Phil Mauger welcomed the news.

“I am absolutely over the moon the Government has allowed us to withdraw from intensifying the rest of Christchurch.

“We know what’s best for our city, its unique character, environment and needs, so this decision means we can keep the momentum going with planning rules that make Christchurch more and more liveable.”

Mauger thanked the minister for his “pragmatic decision” and council staff for their hard work.

Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton community board member Helen Broughton, an opponent of intensification, said while she is “pleased Bishop has accepted the council's position”, the council had needed to shift considerably in the Government’s direction.

While some areas will be heavily affected by the intensification, others will be barely touched, she said.

“I feel concerned for people who are living in Riccarton and what is going to happen, but hopefully it will be over a long time-span.”

Halswell ward councillor Andrei Moore said Bishop’s decision comes as no surprise, and the outcome is “not too bad” for the city.

Moore said the council had wasted time and millions of dollars fighting the Government’s intensification plans, and had inconsistently approved housing density in some outer suburbs but not in some inner suburbs on bus routes.

“Our council has often been a walking, talking contradiction on this process.”

Ministers still have to make a decision on the future of two heritage sites, Antonio Hall and Daresbury, and a special character area around Piko Crescent.

“These will be considered in the coming months.”