Civil defence, Land use and growth  |  2h ago

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A new Development Contributions Policy and Rebate Schemes and the Lighthouse Road stability project were on the agenda at this week’s Finance and Performance Committee meeting.

Development Contributions

A new Development Contribution Policy was adopted that will enable Christchurch City Council to recoup some of the costs of providing growth infrastructure.  Charges will rise across most areas of the district in the new policy, due to increased infrastructure costs, changing patterns of development and slower growth projections compared to 2021, when the last policy was set.  The Council acknowledged the increase was significant but the alternative was for growth infrastructure to be paid for by rates. 

The increase in charges will be somewhat offset by a change to the expiry date for existing demand credits, particularly in the central city there are vacant or unused sites because of the earthquakes.  Existing demand credits will now remain in place for 20 years, increasing from the current 10 years.   This change was made due to a number of sites being unused since the earthquakes. Changing to 20 years allows longer for redevelopment of those sites to occur before credits associated with the site expire. 

 A new rebate scheme will also apply to residential developments of at least six storeys within the central city, supporting the Council’s desire to increase the number of central city residents.  No development contributions will be payable for these developments. 

Lighthouse Road

A section of Lighthouse Road damaged following the severe May weather event will be reconstructed and ongoing monitoring of the land instability site has been approved.

The reconstruction will make the road more resilient and able to withstand potential future movement of the adjacent land.

Drainage work is also proposed to lower the groundwater level in the adjacent affected area, which is expected to improve slope stability and reduce the risk of further movement occurring.

Planning and design will begin immediately, with work expected to start following the 25/26 summer season. This is dependent on any necessary consents being obtained and working through agreements with adjacent landowners .

Residents will be kept informed about access to Lighthouse Road while remediation works are carried out.