Christchurch City Council is scrambling to fix a process failure that allowed road construction in new subdivisions to begin without proper Community Board or Council approvals.
The issue came to light in fast-growing areas like Halswell, where major roading infrastructure was built, including raised platforms and intersection changes, without sign-off from elected members, a situation Halswell Councillor Andrei Moore previously described as “essentially illegal.”
He pointed to recent changes in his ward, including a new raised speed platform on Kennedys Bush Road and modifications to the Milns Road and William Brittan Avenue intersection, all completed without board approval.
Council has since admitted staff acted outside their delegated authority.
Chief Executive Mary Richardson confirmed that some subdivision-related infrastructure projects were carried out without the required resolutions.
In a statement released on Wednesday, General Manager of City Infrastructure Brent Smith said “Work carried out at various sites has been guided by the goal of ensuring safety for both residents and travellers as efficiently as possible. Efforts have focussed on creating safe access for vehicles as well as safe crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists.”
“This issue has been found mostly in areas where rural land has been developed into housing, such as Halswell and Belfast,” Smith said.
When land is being developed, the District Plan includes provision to require upgrades to existing roads along the frontage of a site, and may involve adding footpaths, creating access points, widening roads, safety improvements and planning where new roads connect to existing ones.
“With the development of new subdivisions, there’s a significant increase in people using roads, footpaths, and pedestrian crossings. As traffic movement grows, it’s crucial we have safe crossing points for everyone,” Smith said.
“We want to reassure residents that road safety within new subdivisions has not been compromised. As part of a resource consent application for a subdivision there are roading standards and specifications that developers must meet.”
The Council is now identifying work carried out on existing roads as well as roading infrastructure within a subdivision to determine whether retrospective approvals are necessary.
“For new subdivisions not yet underway, resolution reports will be prepared in advance of any road works starting,” Smith said.
“We’re also exploring a streamlined approach to presenting subdivision roads and road infrastructure and related approvals to community boards or the Council. This will involve high level plans for subdivisions going to the Community Board before the following consent approval, then detailed traffic resolutions will be approved prior to constructions starting.”
Retrospective reports are being prepared that provide the context for and seek Community Board approval to retain the currently constructed infrastructure, which will happen over the next three months. This will also give elected members the opportunity to raise concerns or queries about the work.
