John MacDonald: Piecemeal housing a good reason for change

I think the people at the NZ Initiative thinktank need to have an away day in Christchurch

Then they would understand why I’m poo-pooing this claim they’re making today that having multiple local councils in close proximity to each other is a good thing.

Because if there’s one thing that proves how wrong they are, it would be the disjointed situation we have with housing developments in Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri.

A situation I would sum up as the left hand having no idea what the right hand is doing.

So what the NZ Initiative is saying, is the government is wrong reducing the number of local councils. It thinks that having multiple councils in close proximity to each other is a good thing, because it allows them to keep an eye on each other.

I think he’s wrong. And I don’t think our three councils have any idea what each of them is up to.Because we have the Christchurch council flat out consenting townhouses and apartments to get more people living in the central city.We have Selwyn building homes too fast for the infrastructure to keep up. And, in Waimakariri, we’ve got that 850-home development proposed for Ohoka.Not to mention the Pegasus golf course development.

If these three councils were keeping an eye on each other, as the NZ Initiative guy seems to think they are, we wouldn’t have this piecemeal approach to housing developments.

But we do.

Christchurch city council has been signing off any townhouse or apartment development that comes across its desk, meaning all the people wanting to build or live on a full section in a 3- or 4-bedroom house are flocking to Selwyn and Waimakariri. Selwyn, especially.

So much so, that the infrastructure in Selwyn isn’t keeping up

You might have seen the reports about developers striking problems with sewerage capacity.

Selwyn council’s executive director of building, planning and regulatory services, Robert Love, says the systems in Selwyn are definitely under pressure.

He says: “The scale and speed of growth in Selwyn is among the highest in the country, which creates ongoing pressure on all infrastructure networks. While significant investment is being made and major infrastructure upgrades are under way or planned, including working with Selwyn Water, our treatment plants and networks are currently nearing capacity.”

And that, right there, is proof that the three councils in the greater Christchurch area are not keeping an eye on each other - as the NZ Initiative claims - and is proof that we desperately need one council. To get a much more co-ordinated approach to where homes get built.

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Episode Transcript

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

Speaker 2 (00:12):
I think the people at the New Zealand Initiative think
tank need to have in a way day in christ Church. Hey,
come on down, guys, come on down. Then they would
understand why I'm pooh poohing this claim they're making today
and having multiple local councils in close proximity to each
other is a good thing, because if there's one thing

(00:34):
that proves how wrong they are, it would be the
disjointed situation we have with housing developments in christ Church,
Selwyn and weymakeeri situation that I would summ up maybe
you would do, but I would sum it up as
the left hand having absolutely no idea what the right
hand is doing. In fact, I'd say it's the left

(00:54):
hand having no interest in what the right hand is
doing either. So what the New Zealand Initiative is saying
is that the government's wrong reducing the number of local
councils because it thinks that having multiple councils and close
proximity to each other is a good thing. Sound familiar.

(01:17):
Multiple councils in close proximity sounds like the setup of
God here, isn't it exactly like the setup we've got here.
And the reason the New Zealand Initiative Senior fellow Nick
Clark thinks that's brilliant is that it allows councils to
keep an eye on each other. Now, I think is wrong,

(01:37):
and I don't think our three councils especially have any
idea what each of them is up to. And I
reckon that's the way they like it, especially when it
comes to housing, because consider this. We have christ Church
Council flat out consenting townhouses and apartments to get more

(01:58):
people living in the central city. We have Selwyn building
homes too fast for the infrastructure to keep up. And
in Why Macareri, we've got that eight hundred and fifty
home development proposed for or Hawker, which people are going
nuts about, not to mention the Pegas's golf course development. Now,

(02:21):
if these three councils were keeping an eye on each
other as the New Zealand Initiative guy seems to think
they are, we wouldn't have this piecemeal approach to housing developments,
would we. But we do. It's because we have three
councils doing their own thing. In an area which should
just be one city. But because these councils are doing

(02:42):
their own thing, they don't have to give two hoots
about the impact of their decisions on the greater christ
Church area, do they? You know? Christian Is today council.
What's it been doing signing off any townhouse or apartment
development that comes across its desk? And that means all
the people wanting to build or live on a full
section in your three or four bedroom house, what are
they doing? They're flocking to Selwyn, in Wymakeeri, especially Selwyn,

(03:08):
so much so in Selwyn that the infrastructure isn't keeping up.
You might have seen the reports about developers striking problems
with sewerage capacity and SELMN Council's Executive Director of Building,
Planning and Regulatory Services, Robert Love, saying that the systems
in Selwyn are definitely underpressure. Why is that because of
all the building? He says, quote the scale and speed

(03:30):
of growth in Selwyn is among the highest in the country,
which creates ongoing pressure on all infrastructure networks. While significant
investment is being made and major infrastructure upgrades are underway
or planned, including work or working with Selwyn Water, our
treatment plants and networks are currently nearing capacity end of quote.

(03:53):
And that right there is proof that the three councils
in the Greater Christrich area are not keeping an eye
on each other, as the New Zealand Initiative claims, and
it's that we desperately need one council to get a
much more coordinated approach. Coordinated approach that was to where

(04:15):
houses get built.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
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