Christchurch City Council rules out rates discount for inner-city new home buyers
A rates discount for new home buyers in central Christchurch is off the table after being rejected as an incentive to lift inner-city population.
The Christchurch City Council has also ditched the idea of providing a shared-equity scheme for the central city over concerns it will be duplicated by similar programmes run by the Government.
The decisions come after a new long-awaited report into the supply and demand of central city homes found the council has little influence over construction and land costs, which have the biggest impact on the cost of housing. The report was due in July last year.
The council wants 20,000 people living within the four avenues by 2028. The latest estimates from Stats NZ has the population at 7170, up 8.3 per cent on the previous year.
About 230 homes have already been completed in the central city this year, another 41 are being built and 127 are consented but work has yet to start. By the end of the year, more homes will have been built in 2020 than in any other year for the past decade.
But the council still faces an uphill battle to reach its population target, with another 4500 homes needed over the next eight years.
The report found inner-city residential developers are hampered by land supply and quality issues, uncertain demand, strong competition from the suburbs and finance conditions.
“Buyers are value conscious and the central city does not currently offer value compared to the same-priced alternatives,” the report said.
Potential buyers believed they could get better value for money in the fringe suburbs close to the four avenues.
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Poll: 🪰 Should the city invest money into researching the new Bypass Plan, or should we prioritise fixing the existing infrastructure?
As reported in the Press, the debate over the Bromley odour continues. Recently, a Bypass Plan has been proposed as a potential solution - this involves pumping sewage into the sea. However, official technical, scientific, and environmental reports on this plan and how it may impact the Canterbury region aren't finished yet.
Before we get the final word from the consultants, we want to know what the community thinks about the allocation of rates and resources.
We want to know: Should the city invest money into researching the new Bypass Plan, or should we prioritise fixing and upgrading the existing infrastructure?
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7.9% Research the Bypass
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84.2% Fix Existing Infrastructure
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7.9% Undecided/Need more info
Poll: Should we ditch daylight saving? 🕰️
First introduced in New Zealand in 1927 with the passing of the Summer Time Act, it's what we know as 'Daylight Saving' and this year it ends on the first Sunday in April.
While we do get to sleep in this time around, some people would like to scrap the clock tinkering for good.
And why? Some evidence suggests the time changes are bad for our health as they mess with sleep patterns leading to short-term fatigue and affecting mood. Meanwhile the hour change is frustrating for farmers and a nightmare for getting the littlies to sleep. But what's your take?
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40.9% Yes - get rid of the clock changes
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57.4% No, I enjoy it
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1.7% Other - I'll share below
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