Key Zoning Decisions for Christchurch

Yesterday, Christchurch City Council confirmed the rezoning of substantial areas of Christchurch to enable greater residential intensification. For people who own property, or are looking to purchase property, this rezoning will have a significant impact on the development permitted on their land or the land around them.

At its meeting, the Council approved the Independent Hearing Panel (IHP) recommendations which will provide more medium-density housing zoning around the intensification areas already enabled as part of the Council’s December 2024 decisions on Plan Change 14, including the city centre, Church Corner, Riccarton, Hornby, Linwood, Shirley, Merivale, Edgeware, and Papanui.

Council also agreed to seek approval from Minister Chris Bishop to withdraw the remaining parts of Plan Change 14 – related to applying national Medium-Density Residential Standards (MDRS) – ahead of the Government’s 12 December deadline. Under MDRS, up to three dwellings of up to three storeys can be developed on a property, without needing to apply for a resource consent, if all other rules have been met. In total, Council is required to enable some 65,600 commercially viable houses in Christchurch to meet 30 years of expected “high growth” demand, as projected by Statistics New Zealand (including a further 20 per cent added to the high-growth demand as a buffer).

The decisions will now take immediate effect under the Resource Management Act. Once public notice is issued (expected soon - but no later than 19 September 2025) these changes will become fully operative in the District Plan. The Council will publish an interactive map on its Plan Change 14 webpage, to reflect yesterday’s decision.

If you’re wondering how these changes affect your site, development plans, or resource consent strategy, we’re here to help. We’re tracking updates closely and can assist with interpreting the new zoning provisions, assessing development potential, or navigating next steps.
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