John MacDonald: Is Christchurch ready for a red zone re-think?

Is it time to have a re-think about what’s done with the residential red zone on the east side of Christchurch?

I think it’s fair to say that mayor Phil Mauger thinks so. And so do I.

Phil’s saying today that he wants to see red zone land used for housing as soon as possible. With the first cab off the rank being land on the edge of the area already zoned for it.

This includes land the city council is going to lease to a housing trust so it can provide affordable housing on the east side of town. Ten hectares is already zoned for housing and another 24 hectares is earmarked for trial housing areas.

But, with a total area of about 600-hectares all up, why stop there?

I reckon that, rather than nibble around the edges, we should have a proper technical investigation to find out whether much more of the red zone land could be used.

At a time when we have more and more housing developments chewing up more and more land, shouldn’t we be opening our minds to the possibility that some - if not all - of that red zone land could be a better option?

I think so. But it would require a serious commitment and some serious expenditure. Because it would involve some pretty intense investigative work.

But when you think about when that area was declared a red zone, that was at a time when the land was still moving with all the aftershocks and when it probably just seemed easier to move everyone out and to think about what to do with it afterwards.

The thinking was done and, at that point, it was determined that the last thing to do with that area was to put more houses on it.

Which I think most of us were willing to accept at the time.

But it does seem strange that we are supposed to be behoven forever to decisions made more than a dozen years ago.

When not only time has moved on, but so too has our technical capabilities.

I’m no expert in any of the areas that would need to be factored-in to any decision to have more housing in the red zone, so I’m not demanding that houses be built there tomorrow. But Phil Mauger’s comments have got me thinking.

If we did go ahead with what I’m talking about, there’d be no guarantee that the outcome would be any different to what it was after the quakes. But what’s wrong with opening our minds to the possibility?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Is it time to have a rethink you reckon about
what's done with the residential red zone on the east
side of town. I think it's fair to say the
christ Rich mayor Phil Major think so, and so do I.
You see Phil saying today might have heard this in
the news that he wants to see red zone land
used for housing as soon as possible, with the first

(00:33):
cab off the rank being land on the edge of
the red zone already zoned for it. So this includes
land the council has going to lease to a housing
trust so it can provide affordable housing on the east
side of town. Now ten hectares These are the numbers.
Ten hectares of Red zone land in christ Churches or
ready zone for housing. Another twenty four hectares is earmarked

(00:55):
for trial housing areas. But get this, that's out of
a total area of about six hundred hectares all up,
well thirty four out of six hundred. Will Major saying
today that we should be getting on with using the
land already zoned for housing instead of resoning it for
anything else. But I'll tell you what he's got me thinking,

(01:16):
why stop there? You see? I reckon that rather than
just nibble around the edges, we should have a proper
technical investigation to find out whether much more of the
red zone land could be used. You see, you think
about it this way. At a time when we have
more and more housing developments chewing up more and more land,
shouldn't we be opening our minds to the possibility that some,

(01:39):
if not all, of the Red zone land could be
a better option. I think so. But I'll tell you what.
This would require a serious commitment and some serious expenditure,
because it would involve some pretty intense investigative work, geotechnical stuff,
all of that. But when you think about when that
area was declared a red zone, and when other red
zone areas were declared around the place, When you think

(02:01):
about when those decisions were made, that was at a
time when the land was still moving with all the
after shocks, and at a time when it probably seemed
just easier to move everyone out and think about what
to do with it afterwards. And the thinking was eventually done,
and at that point it was determined that the last
thing to do with that area was to put more

(02:21):
houses on it, which I think if we think back,
and it's a number of years ago now, but I
think most of us at the time were willing to
accept that at the time, even people who had been
living in the Red Zone before the quakes. It's a
huge wrench for them to leave, but it's just out
and was all right, we'll go. Some of them stuck
it out. But when you think about it, it does

(02:43):
seem strange that we are supposed to be behoven forever
two decisions made more than a dozen years ago, when
not only times moved on, but so too has our
technical capabilities. Now, look, I'm no expert in any of
the areas that would need to be factored into any
decision to allow more housing in the Red Zone. So

(03:04):
you're not going to hear me today demand that hous
has been built there tomorrow. I'm not going to take
a nutbar approach like that. But listening to film major
saying that he wants the tiny bits of Red Zone
land already zoned for housing to be used for housing
asap here in philm say that, it's got me thinking.
And if we did go ahead with what I'm talking about,

(03:26):
this is the investigation. This is opening our minds to
the possibility we did go ahead with that, there would
be no guarantee that the outcome would be any different
to what it was after the quakes. But what it
comes down to me is this, what's wrong with opening
our minds to the possibility. There is nothing wrong with that,
But what do you think Is it time to have

(03:48):
a rethink about what's done with the residential red zone
on the east side of christ Church, residential being the
key bit. Should we be looking into the feasibility of
building houses there?

Speaker 1 (03:59):
Again?

Speaker 2 (03:59):
I reckon sye, But tell me what you think. The
number to call right now.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
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