Council establishes Development Christchurch

Christchurch City Council today unanimously resolved to establish a development authority funded and operated under Christchurch City Holdings Limited.

In her report, Mayor Lianne Dalziel requested that Christchurch City Holdings Limited (CCHL) utilises an existing non-operational shelf company within its portfolio to provide equity of $1.5 million over each of the next two years. This would fund the establishment and operating budget of the development authority, known as Development Christchurch Limited.

The Council also requested the CCHL board report back to them on the process it would propose for the authority's development.

Mayor Dalziel says this structure would allow for the establishment of a development authority without impacting on the rates proposed in the draft Long Term Plan.

"Previous development authority funding models prepared for consideration by the Council would have resulted in rates increases of more than two per cent. I'm not comfortable for a development authority to have an impact on rates, so I'm pleased the Council has approved this revised structure. I want Development Christchurch Limited to be self-sufficient and essentially repaying its start-up funds over time.

"There's a real need to kick-start development within both central Christchurch and the suburbs and Development Christchurch Limited will provide this single point of entry for international investors. The Council is under financial pressure so this enables us to consider alternative ways to deliver projects and promote faster regeneration of the whole city."

Last year the Council agreed in principle to set up a development authority, as an opportunity to speed up Christchurch’s post-quake rebuild and help attract private sector funding for major projects.

Development Christchurch Limited will be a Council Controlled Trading Organisation (CCTO) with CCHL as the sole shareholder. Operating under CCHL, Development Christchurch Limited will have an independent board of five, with members nominated by CCHL and approved by the Council. Board members will have commercial expertise as the focus of Development Christchurch Limited will be on generating investment opportunities, allowing for the long-term regeneration of central and wider Christchurch. All projects will be subject to Council approval with the authority providing monthly reports to the Strategy and Finance Committee. A full in-person report will go to the committee every quarter.

"Development Christchurch will provide a flexible framework to catalyse projects, raise capital and

engage with public and private sector partners, "says Mayor Dalziel.

"As a Council we will set the vision, strategy and objectives for Development Christchurch Limited and monitor performance. This approach will allow us to have an oversight over the authority while it focuses on creating the investment and redevelopment our city needs."

ENDS

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