A Christchurch City Council review into the quality of recently built medium and high density housing developments has found some to be of poor quality.

The review involved a survey of 46 residential developments consented and built in areas of the city zoned for medium or high-density housing since the Christchurch District Plan came into force in 2016.

It found some of the developments fall short of the desired standard.

While most of the residential developments were close to a ‘satisfactory’ some were assessed to be of poor quality.

The majority of the issues related to poor site layout, which impacted on many aspects of the site and building design, including the relationship with the street. 

The review said more consideration needed to be given to the arrangement of buildings on site so that buildings and private spaces function effectively and relate well to the street and neighbours, without privacy conflicts or the need for prominent fencing.

There was insufficient space allocated to front gardens and accessway planting and the resulting environment is not as safe or as pleasant as anticipated.

Other recurring issues related to crime prevention though environmental design and were caused by privacy conflicts that discouraged passive surveillance, and a lack of a sense of ownership of spaces. 

A clear hierarchy of private to public spaces was needed.

The report said a tension was also identified between the existing character and the anticipated form of development.

It said an issue unique to the central city was the scale of buildings used to achieve higher density. 

This sometimes involved using suburban typologies built at greater density than in the inner suburbs, which often had problems such as privacy issues. 

Apartment buildings were often poorly designed and appeared monolithic. 

A combination of improved design and a more appropriate medium-high density typology would lead to improved outcomes in the central city.

More space also needs to be allocated to gardens and tree planting. “This would create a safer, more pleasant environment.”

The review findings will be formally presented to the Council’s Urban Development and Transport Committee on Wednesday 9 September.