Simpson Grierson proud to work with Christchurch Council

05 April 2017

MEDIA RELEASE

Simpson Grierson proud to work alongside Christchurch City Council in unprecedented district planning process

Despite a few outstanding Court of Appeal and High Court appeals, the fast-tracked and bespoke Christchurch district plan review process is nearing its end, with a total 90% of the new Christchurch District Plan to be confirmed operative on 7 April 2017.

Partner Sarah Scott says the firm is proud to have worked alongside the Christchurch City Council in this unprecedented planning process.

It was a hugely demanding project, and at times required most of New Zealand's largest and leading resource management team to be involved, she says.

"The process was complex, wide-ranging, high volume, included numerous novel legal issues and was procedurally challenging, which demanded strategic legal input and risk management advice on a daily basis, and very quick turn-around given the compressed timeframes.

"It demonstrated our depth of expertise, and the quality of our team, to be able to meet the demands of this process."

The Christchurch plan review differed substantially from the standard Resource Management Act plan review process, with an aim to deal with the dramatically different circumstances facing Christchurch post-earthquake and to enable the District's recovery.

The process was run by an Independent Hearings Panel and involved 46 separate hearings, which were similar to hearings before the Environment Court.

When added to the very tight timeframes, this placed very significant demands on all participants, and particularly the Council as "owner" of the plan, Sarah says.

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