Housing intensification proposal challenged by submitters
A Christchurch engineering lecturer says the city council’s proposed changes to the district plan includes a “manufactured” reason to stop developers from building higher density housing.
Tom Logan, a senior lecturer in civil systems engineering at the University of Canterbury, is one of about 1000 people and organisations who have told the city council their views on Plan Change 14 (PC14), which aims to increase housing availability and affordability by cutting red tape.
A final round of submissions closed on Monday, with an independent hearings panel set to begin in October.
The plan change was triggered by new medium density rules set by central government in 2021, which called on large cities like Christchurch to allow up to three homes of three storeys each on most sections across the city.
Read the full story by reporter Sinead Gill here (subscription required).
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Poll: Canterbury is thriving on paper... but are you seeing evidence of Canterbury's improving economy?
As reported in the Press, Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman recently gave a shout-out to our region, calling Canterbury a "stand-out" for how we recover from tough times. With tech firms growing and exporters investing, the business side of things is looking bright!
👉 But we know that "business growth" doesn't always mean the weekly shop gets any cheaper. While the city expands, many families feel like they’re just trying to keep their heads above water.
We want to know: With the business buzz of 2026, do you feel like things are finally looking up for your household, or does it still feel like a climb?
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16.7% Yes
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60.4% No
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22.9% In some areas ...
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