Press Release: Fast-Track projects continue Christchurch's unsustainable urban sprawl.

Greater Ōtautahi believes that the projects announced by the government on Sunday under the Fast-Track Schedule show a lack of long-term vision for how to sustainably grow our city. The government has announced 22 fast-track projects approved in Canterbury, with a mixture of housing and infrastructure projects for the Greater Christchurch area.

Most notable to us is that over 8000 new homes could be built across Canterbury. While we are strongly in favour of new housing, these communities need to be connected to a diverse set of sustainable transport options. Only 528 of these homes are within Christchurch City, with the remainder in Selwyn and Waimakariri. The responsibility for connecting these to public transport rests with Environment Canterbury, and we are not confident that they have the resources to provide that additional infrastructure.

“We’re concerned that this represents a continuation of thoughtless car-dependent urban sprawl in Greater Christchurch,” says spokesperson David Palmer. “Car dependency is bad for our community and our urban environment. As communities spread out, the cost of the supporting infrastructure grows exponentially. It creates disconnected communities and robs our region of the benefits of agglomerating around major urban centres. Endlessly spreading across the Canterbury Plains is not a sustainable approach for our city.”

Infrastructure projects announced also serve to extend car-dependent urban sprawl, with the Woodend Bypass project justified on the grounds that it reduces travel times to Pegasus. 

“For a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to build four kilometres of highway north of Kaiapoi, we could invest in a regional rail solution to make commuting quicker both north and south of Christchurch. Plus, it would take cars off the road, easing congestion for motorists. That would present a far better return on investment than shaving a few minutes off private car journeys.”

The houses built within Christchurch are proposed by Grassmere Estates Ltd, who are planning to subdivide near the Cranford Basin in Papanui. This is a low-lying area marked for Flood Management in the Christchurch District Plan. The standard resource consent process includes checks and balances to protect developments from natural hazards, and they must not be disregarded during the fast track process.

“The Grassmere project is well-connected to public and active transport, with the Papanui Parallel cycleway and major bus routes close by. As long as the natural hazards are well-managed, we’d love to see more housing projects like this being built within the boundaries of Christchurch City, rather than creating new satellite towns in disconnected places.”

Overall, we feel the Fast-Track legislation is a missed opportunity to accelerate the growth of our city. We would prefer to see projects focus on urban intensification and sustainable transport, rather than lazily continuing to spread out across the plains.

About us

Greater Ōtautahi is a non-partisan organisation consisting of Ōtautahi Christchurch residents who want to help create a better city. We advocate for increasing access to housing, and improving public and active transport. We’re working for better amenities, safe streets, and a vibrant city.  We want to see a future Ōtautahi that is liveable and equitable for generations to come.

Email: greaterotautahi@gmail.com 
Twitter: @GreaterOtautahi
Instagram: @greaterotautahi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greaterotautahi 
Media contact: David Palmer 027 355 0062