The Minister for the Environment has accepted this application for referral. The Minister considered the application against the criteria in the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 (the Act) and the Act’s purpose, and sought and considered written comments from the relevant Ministers, Waimakariri District Council, Canterbury Regional Council, Christchurch City Council, the Greater Christchurch Partnership, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, and the New Zealand Transport Agency. The Minister has accepted this application for the following reasons:
the project will help to achieve the purpose of the Act:
the project will have positive effects on social well-being by providing additional housing in an area that has a housing shortfall and has been identified as an appropriate future growth area:
the project will generate approximately 229 direct full-time equivalent jobs in planning, design, construction, sales, and marketing:
the project will increase housing supply by approximately 209 residential units:
the project is likely to progress faster than would otherwise be the case under the Resource Management Act 1991 standard processes:
any actual and potential effects on the environment, and measures to mitigate adverse effects, can be appropriately tested by an expert consenting panel against Part 2 of the Resource Management Act 1991 and the purpose of the Act.