Am I on my own when I express frustration about the endless delays in establishing a Governance structure for the Red Zone? Surely 10 years of sitting at endless meetings chewing the end of a pencil has enabled Central and Local Government time to get their act together. There’s quite frankly no excuse for any further delay.

When I last looked closely at who was responsible for what at CCC, there appeared to be a power scramble between the engineers who argued that it was an infrastructural issue. The planners were arguing that it was their domain to get it right. The parks people argued that they should manage it.

Listen elected reps. Get your act together. You were supplied with a framework by the Board of Regenerate. What happened to this? Has it dropped into a black hole somewhere? We have had a number of sessions at the Tuesday Club where well-meaning people have wrung their hands and told us how hard it really is.

Well, Mayor and Councillors, hand wringing time is over. You have not put aside sufficient funds in the LTP to undertake anything serious about Governance and management of this taonga. This is the greatest opportunity to achieve world leading local experimentation. This will only happen when we have leadership from our politicians and CCC bureaucracy. Stop blaming LINZ. Yes, they are part of the problem, but the institution which we expect to lead is, quite frankly, also sitting on its hands.

Recently I asked Chrissie Williams to write what her thoughts are as chair of the only public accountability structure dedicated to the Red Zone. Reading her summary, which is printed below, filled me with despair. That’s my interpretation, not Chrissie’s. There’s a whole lot of actions which require the elected Council to undertake. Calling for yet another report is just “Pontius Pilot” behaviour.

We need a Governance structure to be provisionally approved by the elected Council to enable us to make submissions on what we think about them. I will be inviting senior staff and elected reps from CCC to speak to the Tuesday Club about progress (or should I say non-progress) toward a Governance structure for the Red Zone and when it will be up for consideration by the public of Christchurch.

Here’s Chrissie Williams’ document:

30 June 2021 sees the end of Recovery and Regeneration Plans

Chrissie Williams, 3 April 2021

Recovery Plans and Regeneration Plans

Over the last nine years there have been seven plans developed under earthquake legislation. Under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011, we have:

• Christchurch Central Recovery Plan (2012)
• Land Use Recovery Plan notified (2013)
• Residential Red Zone Offer Recovery Plan (2015)
• Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan (2015)
• Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan (2016)

And under the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act 2016 (GCR Act):

• Cranford Regeneration Plan ( 2017)

Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Plan (2019)

Amendment of GCR Act in 2020

In 2020, the GCR Act was amended to:

• revoke section 71 which had given the Minister the power to make changes to RMA documents;
• disestablish Regenerate Christchurch on 30 June 2020;
• extend some of the land powers until 2023 to provide for the large-scale ŌARC title reconfiguration project of the Crown owned land.

Statutory effect of Plans

Most of these recovery plans and both regeneration plans directed changes to the relevant RMA instruments – district plans, regional plans and/or the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.

As well, until 30 June 2021 all of the recovery and regeneration plans still have statutory effect. Councils must not make RMA decisions that are inconsistent with a plan (GCR Act, section 60); and in greater Christchurch annual plans, long-term plans, regional land transport and public transport plans, and reserve management plans must not be inconsistent with a plan (GCR Act, section 63).

Revocation of the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Plan

On 30 June 2021, the sections in the GCR Act relating to recovery and regeneration plans will be revoked. This means the plans will no longer have statutory effect.

The earlier plans have generally fulfilled their purpose. It would be expedient, however, to retain the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Plan in some form. It involved significant investment in research and community engagement, and was approved only 18 months ago. It provides a vision and objectives for the corridor, and emphasises and visualises what is important for implementing the plan.

The provisions in the district and regional plans will persist. For the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor, Section 13.14 in the Christchurch District Plan – the Specific Purpose (Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor) Zone – provides Objectives, Policies, Rules, and a Development Plan.

On 24 March 2021, Council requested advice from Council Officers on adopting the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Plan as a Council Policy/Strategy. This would be a positive step by Council, and the plan would be the foundation for the co-governance entity being established.