Ensuring development is appropriate and aligned with infrastructure

Development is crucial to accommodate population increase, allow our population to move and change, and to support our economy. If these demands are met in the right way, they support our well-being. However, poor planning or mismanagement can harm the environment, infrastructure and the character of rural areas and landscapes.

Planning for strategic and integrated land use and infrastructure is vital for sustainable development, but it requires coordination and cooperation between infrastructure providers and the agencies responsible for growth in the region. At the same time, we need to create accessible and liveable spaces that promote and support environmental sustainability.

We have a number of heritage sites and sites of cultural significance in Waitaha/Canterbury that also need to be protected from inappropriate development and access that might compromise their values.

Development also needs to align with existing significant infrastructure such as strategic transport networks, airports and airfields, ports, bulk fuel supply, Defence Force facilities, telecommunication, electricity distribution, sewage collection and treatment, community land drainage, community drinking water supply, community-scale irrigation and stock water.

Drivers for change

Central government direction, population growth, and the need to reduce emissions from transport and home heating are all important factors. We also need to enable and encourage affordable housing, with appropriate public green spaces that assist in creating biodiverse habitats, provide shade and make other contributions to liveable spaces. Land-use intensification also plays an important part in ensuring development and not competing for space with existing infrastructure.

We know we need to take further steps to identify and protect cultural and heritage items, places and landscapes.

What we heard

• Let’s have regular and reliable public transport.
• Give rivers room to move.
• More cycleways, fewer cars.
• Identify sites of historical significance or that are important to Māori and protect them.

What we can influence

• We can clearly describe, for development purposes, what a well-functioning built environment should look like. We can enable a wider variety of housing options with urban green spaces, promote sustainable practices that support resilience, and give direction that ensures the right land use in the appropriate place.
• We can prioritise strategic infrastructure over amenity value, natural character and other desirable outcomes.
• We can change criteria that help define significant cultural or heritage sites and work towards identifying and protecting more of them.