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The Council’s Housing and Business Choice Plan Change (Plan Change 14), together with its Heritage Plan Change (Plan Change 13), were originally notified for submissions from 17 March to 12 May 2023. Further submissions were then invited from 30 June to 17 July 2023. From today until 7 August 2023, anyone who meets the requirements…
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…
Live Ocean Foundation Sally Paterson, Chief ExecutiveThe foundation set up by Kiwi sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke is on a mission to scale up marine science, innovation and outreach using sport as a powerful platform for conservation issues. Fabrum Chris Boyle, Co-founder and ChairmanFabrum Solutions is focused on renewable energy and has pioneered liquid…
The streets of Greater Christchurch are a little quieter, and a lot greener, with 16 new electric buses rolling out onto our roads from this week. The new vehicles join a further 28 electric vehicles added to the fleet in the last two years, which Environment Canterbury Chair Peter Scott believes has already impacted the city….
Driving real change: 20% of Metro’s bus fleet now zero-emission The streets of Greater Christchurch are a little quieter, and a lot greener, with 16 new electric buses rolling out onto our roads from this week. The new vehicles join a further 28 electric vehicles added to the fleet in the last two years, which…
Christchurch City Council has released its Climate Change Risk Screening for Ōtautahi Christchurch and Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula. “This Risk Screening is a really useful tool for the Council to help us understand and plan for the significant risks that our district faces due to climate change,” Adaptation Planning Team Leader Jane Morgan says. “As…
The question of whether Christchurch can plant its way out of climate change will be explored at the next event in the Christchurch Conversations series. Plants are vital for life on Earth. In a warming world, they provide shade, reduce erosion, slow flooding, store carbon, and more. The effective use of this green infrastructure is…
Christchurch’s planning rules will change significantly this month as District Plan changes enabling more housing and development in the city come into effect to comply with government direction. New Government-mandated Medium Density Residential Standards are part of the Draft Housing and Business Choice Plan Change that Christchurch City Council staff will be recommending the Council…
Two Christchurch City Council projects aimed at making streets safer and more people-friendly have won funding support from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. The agency has agreed to provide funding through its $30 million Streets for People 2021-24 programme for: Haeata Connections, a project centred around the Haeata Community Campus and surrounding community in Aranui….
Mayor Lianne Dalziel says she understands people’s concerns about Government-directed moves to enable higher density housing in Christchurch but the Council’s hands are tied. “We have very little room to manoeuvre,’’ says Mayor Dalziel. “We are legally obliged to notify changes to our District Plan to comply with the Government policy directions, which have been…
Two Christchurch City Council projects aimed at making streets safer and more people-friendly have won funding support from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. The agency has agreed to provide funding through its $30 million Streets for People 2021-24 programme for: Haeata Connections, a project centred around the Haeata Community Campus and surrounding community in Aranui….
Mayor Lianne Dalziel says she understands people’s concerns about Government-directed moves to enable higher density housing in Christchurch but the Council’s hands are tied. “We have very little room to manoeuvre,’’ says Mayor Dalziel. “We are legally obliged to notify changes to our District Plan to comply with the Government policy directions, which have been…
Christchurch’s planning rules will change significantly this month as District Plan changes enabling more housing and development in the city come into effect to comply with government direction. New Government-mandated Medium Density Residential Standards are part of the Draft Housing and Business Choice Plan Change that Christchurch City Council staff will be recommending the Council…
What caused Timaru’s drinking water to change colour? Our science investigation into what caused the discolouration of Timaru’s drinking water in late 2021 has found that discharge from silage pits was a likely contributor to the problem, but we couldn’t rule out other possible contributors. Timaru residents experienced several weeks of yellow/brown water during the summer…
A Christchurch City Council survey shows nearly all respondents are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their day-to-day lives. Ways you can lower your emissions Petrol and diesel road transport are our biggest source of emissions. Walking or going by bike, bus, scooter, ride-share or an electric vehicle (EV) instead are big ways…
Ngāi Tahu appointees set to join Council after law change approved A law change has cleared the way for two Ngāi Tahu representatives to join the Canterbury Regional Council with full decision-making rights. The Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill passed its third reading in Parliament on Wednesday 3 August. Environment Canterbury Chair Jenny…
People affected by climate change in regions such as the Pacific are often portrayed as victims and their history of resilience to environmental challenges is too often overlooked in policy and research. More at the source
Christchurch City Council has approved a private plan change that will allow the Homebase retail centre on Marshland Road to expand, but there will be limitations on development. The Council adopted recommendations made by the independent hearings panel that considered the application by Reefville Properties Limited to extend the commercial zone to the north of…
How are native species adapting to climate change? They seem an unlikely pair but kororā (little blue penguins) and pipefish could reveal how Aotearoa’s native species adapt to major challenges – including climate change. University of Canterbury biologist Dr Sarah Flanagan in the field studying pipefish. “There’s no single solution that will solve the problems…
Since large-scale production of plastics began in the 1950s, around 5 gigatons (Gt) of plastic waste has amassed in landfills or the natural environment. As they age, plastics become brittle through exposure to sunlight and break down to produce microplastics (and even smaller nanoplastics). It is a well-established fact that microplastics are in our oceans,…
Tackling climate change with ‘carbon negative’ green hydrogen Researchers at the University of Canterbury (UC) are developing a smart new way of making green hydrogen from woody biomass and capturing carbon in the process. University of Canterbury Chemical Processing Engineers Professor Shusheng Pang and Associate Professor Alex Yip UC Chemical and Process Engineers Professor Shusheng…
Some historically-important residential areas and more historic places could receive additional protection from the Christchurch District Plan if a proposed plan change gets approved. As part of the Heritage Plan change, the Council is proposing to create 11 Residential Heritage Areas (RHAs). These are neighbourhoods with buildings and features which, collectively rather than individually, are…
More intense housing development will be allowed in most residential parts of Christchurch under the Draft Housing and Business Choice Plan Change, now out for consultation. The draft plan change is being driven by the need to comply with new Government direction that prioritises the need for more housing to accommodate our growing population. “The…
Christchurch City Council is taking steps to ensure that new housing development in Christchurch does not come at the expense of the city’s tree canopy. As part of the Draft Housing and Business Choice Plan Change, the Council is proposing to start charging developers Financial Contributions if their developments leave a site with less than…
Parts of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise would have future development managed according to their level of risk. Christchurch City Council has begun consulting the public on its Draft Coastal Hazards Plan Change, which outlines how the Council will manage future development, subdivision and changes…
A plan change aimed at managing the impacts of short-term visitor accommodation on residential and rural areas of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula has been approved. “Online booking platforms have made it easy for people to rent out spare rooms or whole houses to out-of-town visitors on a casual basis and opened up more choices for…
A Hearings Panel is recommending the use of the Christchurch District Plan to manage the impacts of short-term accommodation on residential and rural areas. In September 2020 Christchurch City Council publicly notified a proposed plan change – Plan Change 4 Short-term Accommodation – in response to concerns about the impact that Airbnb-type accommodation was having…
The wide-ranging report into the Christchurch terror attack must be treated with the utmost respect, but the recommendations within it must also be properly scrutinised, Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins says. “The atrocities committed on March 15, 2019 were the actions of an evil terrorist designed to spread fear and silence those who did…
“Practical and honest solutions are needed to the problems identified in the Royal Commission of Inquiry report into the terrorist attack on Christchurch mosques, not knee-jerk reactions,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
Sunday, January 31, must be seen as a red-letter day in New Zealand’s climate change history. Much is being speculated and anticipated about the work of the new Climate Change Commission. At 2pm on Sunday, He Pou A Rangi Climate Change Commission will release its draft advice to government, on how to dramatically and substantially…