The Medium Density Housing guide has been produced to accompany Plan Change 7, which introduced a new Living Z zone for greenfield residential development. This new zone allows for the development of traditional low density, medium density and comprehensively design development.

View the Medium Density Housing Guide [PDF, 15348 KB]

Selwyn’s townships are predominantly made up of larger residential sections.  But as the townships grow, an increasing demand for a variety of section sizes is expected, to cater for a range of people and for needs that change at different stages of people’s lives.

Medium Density Housing is a way to fit more houses onto an area of land, but it does not mean long connected terraces of houses or apartments or closely spaced houses built “one behind the other” on square plots.  It does include development such as single houses on smaller sections, or semi-detached houses.

The Council wishes to ensure that these higher density developments create the same quality of attractive streets as standard residential development.  We expect carefully designed houses which frame the street scene in a positive and attractive way.

The Medium Density Housing Guide is being developed to illustrate the way that Council expects these streets to be created, with houses that provide private gardens for occupants and do not appear out of place due to their bulk or design.

The Guide compliments Plan Change 7 to the Selwyn District Plan, which manages the development of Greenfield sites in Lincoln, and Rolleston.

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