Friday 16 August 2013

District Plan Review underway

The Christchurch City Council has the review of its district plan underway, incorporating the current Christchurch City Plan and the Banks Peninsula District Plan.

District plans set out the provisions governing the use of land within the district including residential and business zoning, transport, natural hazards, future development areas and heritage.

The Resource Management Act 1991 requires councils to review provisions in their district plans every ten years. The Christchurch City Council had begun the process of reviewing the current Christchurch City Plan and the Banks Peninsula District Plan prior to the earthquakes, but this was then put on hold after February 2011.

In April this year the Council resolved to go ahead with a full review of the two plans, to address immediate and long-term planning needs. This followed the release of the draft Land Use Recovery Plan prepared by Environment Canterbury on behalf of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.

Chair of the Planning Committee, Councillor Sue Wells says it is important to review the district plan for Christchurch in its entirety as soon as possible, rather than continually adding to or revising the existing two plans.

The initial set of chapters of the new district plan — those relating to earthquake recovery — are due to be notified in late November 2013 and completed by 30 June 2014. The review of the remaining chapters — the non-recovery ones — must be completed by the end of the next Council term in 2016.

The post-earthquake environment means the Council needs to focus on streamlining the plan, simplifying its provisions and making it easy to use. Creating a plan that allows regular review also enables the Council to more flexibly respond to changing community, legislative, or market priorities in the future.

Council’s General Manager Strategy & Planning Mike Theelen says the district plan touches the lives of everyone in our city. As the Council drafts the new district plan we need to weigh up a raft of issues and competing demands. We need the people of Christchurch to take part in the review and help us find the right balance for future land use.

ENDS

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