Christchurch is growing – but where and how that growth happens matters. We’re seeing rapid intensification in parts of Hornby, especially along Amyes Road.

Medium and high-density housing is being packed in at speed. Surprisingly, some of these new developments include no provision for car parking at all – no garages, no off-street parking, and not even enough on-street space to make up for it.

This creates serious flow-on effects: unsafe streets, pressure on already narrow roads, and frustration for existing residents.

At its core, this is a spatial problem. You can’t fit 100 cars on a street built for 20. But at the same time, many of the decisions around housing density and zoning rules are outside of Council’s direct control – they come from central government and national planning standards.

That doesn’t mean we’re powerless. It means we need to be strategic.

As your representative, I will:

• Push for growth to be focused in the central city and areas with strong transport links, where density is more sustainable and services are already in place.
• Advocate for integrated planning, so when intensification does happen in suburbs, it comes with footpaths, crossings, bus routes, green space and drainage – not ten years after the fact.
• Hold developers accountable to the community impact of their projects, and push for better engagement so residents aren’t just left with the fast-tracked consequences.
• Champion smarter design standards that reflect the reality of suburban life – not imported templates that don’t work in our context.

We can’t just build more houses – we have to build better communities, with space to live, learn, play, work, and grow.

That takes long-term thinking, hard conversations, and an elected representative who is willing to challenge the status quo.