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Last modified: 23 Feb 2023 1:57pm

How do we want Greater Christchurch to grow and how will we get around – that’s among what Selwyn residents are now being asked to shape an ambitious growth and transport plan for the region.

The Whakawhanake Kāinga Komiti (Urban Growth Partnership for Greater Christchurch) are inviting people living in Christchurch City, Selwyn and Waimakariri Districts to take part in the  discussion to shape where and how their area will grow in the future and how its transport infrastructure can be future-proofed.

The Huihui Mai (let’s come together) public engagement opens this week and runs to Sunday 26 March.

It asks if the Partnership’s work on how we accommodate more people and business in Greater Christchurch in the future, while also providing a high quality of life for our people, a thriving economy and protecting our environment, is in line with the community’s aspirations.

This work also includes a potential ‘turn up and go’ mass rapid transit system, which both responds to and encourages growth along its proposed route from central Christchurch City north to Belfast and south-west to Hornby.

Feedback will be used to inform plans about transport, infrastructure and urban planning, which will then go out to the public for consultation later this year.

Greater Christchurch’s population is forecast to double to a million people over the next 60 years or even earlier, following rapid growth over the past 15 years.

For Selwyn a key balance is around retaining high quality agricultural land while managing ongoing growth says Selwyn District Mayor Sam Broughton.

“Selwyn, for example, is a strong farming area with extremely fertile land, much of which is already being used for food production. It is important that this high-quality agriculture land is retained for the use it is best suited to and not lost to housing development,” he says.
“At the same time we recognise that we need to accommodate our growing population and that is why the plan for future growth is so important for our region.”

Residents can find out more about the Partnership’s work, listen to webinar and complete a survey online until 26 March.

The Whakawhanake Kāinga Komiti Urban Growth Partnership for Greater Christchurch was established last year, bringing together local government, mana whenua and central government to advance shared urban growth objectives.