20 Jun 2023

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Christchurch City Council has released its submission on the Housing and Business Choice Plan Change (Plan Change 14) ahead of inviting further public submissions from the end of this month.

The Council received more than 900 submissions on Plan Change 14 during the notification period which closed 12 May. All of them will be publicly released at the start of the next round of consultation from 30 June until 17 July.

Head of Planning and Consents John Higgins says anyone affected by a submission on Plan Change 14 can provide feedback on that submission from 30 June (called a further submission).

“We want to give people ample time to read through the Council’s detailed submission before consultation opens so they can formulate their thinking and get ready to give their own feedback when the time comes.”

“Even if you submitted on Plan Change 14 during the notification period, you can still make a further submission, but it must be limited to points already raised in someone else’s submission,” Mr Higgins says.

People can also check whether they meet the requirements for making a further submission on Plan Change 14 by visiting ccc.govt.nz/haveyoursay from 30 June.

Plan Change 14 has been designed to bring the city’s District Plan in line with the Government’s new national standards to encourage multi-unit housing developments – called the Medium-Density Residential Standards (MDRS) – and to allow greater intensification in and around the Central City and suburban centres.

When the MDRS take legal effect, up to three dwellings of up to three storeys will be able to be developed on a property in Christchurch without needing to apply for a resource consent if all other rules have been met.

An independent hearings process for Plan Change 14 will run from October this year. After hearing from submitters, the panel will make recommendations for the Council to consider for its final decision on the plan change next year.

Read the Council’s submission on Plan Change 14.