Over the past 15 years, Greater Christchurch has grown rapidly to a population of around half a  million. By 2050, up to 700,000 people could be living in Greater Christchurch – 40% more than there are today, with the population potentially doubling to 1 million people in the future.It’s important to plan for how growth this significant will be accommodated, while also looking after the environment and responding to climate change.

In 2022, the Greater Christchurch Partnership and the Crown established an Urban Growth
Partnership for Greater Christchurch – the Whakawhanake Kāinga Komiti. This partnership of central government, local government and mana whenua is focused on shared objectives related to affordable housing, emissions reduction, and creating liveable and resilient urban areas.

The first priority of the partnership was to prepare the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
The Spatial Plan sets out the partners’ shared vision for the future of Greater Christchurch.
It is a plan for action, for starting now to make the transformational shifts needed to secure
the future of Greater Christchurch. This includes a clear pathway for how the city region will create prosperous and well-functioning urban environments, and build greater resilience in the context of the changing environment. It sets out what the priorities are and what needs to happen to achieve them.

Its overarching directions include a focus on targeted intensification in centres and along public transport corridors, along with the prosperous development of kāinga nohoanga on Māori Land and within urban areas. The direction set out in the plan is supported by commitments across central government, local government and mana whenua to partner and invest in shared priorities for Greater Christchurch, to ensure the city region remains a great place to live for all. The implementation of the plan will form the ongoing work programme of the partnership.

The Draft Spatial Plan was open for public submissions between 19 June to 23 July 2023. Hearings and deliberations on the Plan were held across October and November 2023. This helped the Hearing Panel to develop their report and proposed draft Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan which was presented and unanimously endorsed by the Greater Christchurch Partnership Committee on Friday 16 February 2024.

During March all Partner Councils (Christchurch City Council, Selwyn District Council, Waimakariri District Council and Environment Canterbury) also adopted the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan. 

The Greater Christchurch Partnership has developed a joint work programme comprising key actions and initiatives, and a selection of Priority Areas, that will help to implement the direction of the Spatial Plan. 

Please refer to the organisation website for further information on the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan or the Greater Christchurch Partnership. 

This information was shared by the Greater Christchurch Partnership.