Next steps for the coastal hazards conversation

Kia ora,

Last year we started our coastal hazards conversation with the release of an updated Coastal Hazard Assessment and an eight-week period of engagement on the Coastal Adaptation Framework, and the Issues and Options discussion paper for the Coastal Hazards Plan Change.

This year we are continuing our focus on coastal hazards through the Coastal Hazards Adaptation Planning Programme and the Coastal Hazards Plan Change.

• The Coastal Hazards Plan Change is about managing new development, changes of use and subdivision proposed in the future.
• The Coastal Hazards Adaptation Planning Programme is about working with communities and rūnanga to reduce current and future coastal flooding, erosion and groundwater risks to existing people and places. 

We received 101 submissions on the Coastal Adaptation Framework and 90 submissions on the Issues and Options Paper - thank you to everyone who provided feedback on either or both of these documents.

Next Steps 

Coastal Hazards Plan Change

• On 31 March we’re taking a report to the Urban Development and Transport Committee to seek approval to undertake city-wide, pre-notification engagement on the proposed Coastal Hazards Plan Change. The report includes a consultation analysis which shows how the feedback received helped shape the proposed Plan Change.
• Consultation on the draft Plan Change is proposed to start on 11 April and run until 12 May 2022. We’ll be back in touch then to let you know how you can give us feedback.

Coastal Hazards Adaptation Planning Programme 

• On 7 April, we’re taking updated the Coastal Adaptation Framework to Council for approval. Again, that report includes a consultation analysis which shows how the feedback received helped shape the final document. We’re also seeking approval to appoint our first Coastal Panel for the Whakaraupō / Lyttelton Mt Herbert area.  The agenda for that meeting will be available here from 4 April 2022. 
• Following the approval of the */Framework, we move to the next stage of the programme, which is collaborative adaptation planning with specific communities and rūnanga. We’re starting with some of the communities in the Whakaraupō / Lyttelton Mt Herbert area – a decision made by the Urban Development and Transport Committee in November 2020. While we’re really keen to get things underway as quickly as possible, COVID is creating some challenges for us. We’ve therefore made the difficult decision to pause engagement in the Whakaraupō / Lyttelton Mt Herbert area until this spring, when hopefully it will be a lot easier to plan events, and to meet community members and the Coastal Panel face-to-face. In the meantime, we’ll continue to work with rūnanga, community members and schools to plan and prepare for the spring start.

Coastal Hazards Assessment 

A reminder about our updated Coastal Hazards Assessment for the Ōtautahi Christchurch District coastline (including the Banks Peninsula coastline) which looks at the magnitude and extent of hazards using a range of different scenarios.  Find out if your property is in an area affected by coastal hazards with our online interactive map viewer. Or watch some videos to understand how coastal hazards are expected to affect different parts of the district.

If your community group wasn’t able to attend one of our engagements in late 2021 and would like to hear more about the Coastal Hazards Assessment, please get in touch with Jane Morgan.  

Over the coming months, the Council will be updating Land Information Memorandum (LIMs) to include information from the Coastal Hazards Assessment to help people make informed decisions when buying, building, repairing or investing in property.  The Council is legally required to undertake these updates.

CoastSnap 

CoastSnap is a global community science initiative that helps to capture the changes occurring on our coasts, and it can be found right here in Christchurch. If you haven’t done so already, head down to the New Brighton Pier, or the Godley Head Walkway with your smartphone to check out our CoastSnap photo points and help contribute to our understanding of these dynamic environments.

Over the past year we have received hundreds of photos from our community and are now looking to expand our network of photo points. Keep an eye out for the new CoastSnap stations that will be popping up in Corsair Bay and Sumner this spring. In the meantime, visit our website to find out more about CoastSnap in Christchurch.

Transport survey of residents in Whakaraupō

As we’re starting our adaption planning programme with communities in the Whakaraupō / Lyttelton Mt Herbert area, we’re keen to get a better understanding from local residents on what matters to them about where and how they live. This will be a focus for our engagement in spring, but we’ve got the ball rolling this summer with some research by two University students into how people use local roads, how the potential loss of main-road access may impact communities, and how we could mitigate these impacts. The full report will be available on our website shortly.

One of the key findings from the survey is that, while most survey respondents and essential service providers are flexible to temporary closures of the main road, residents are almost evenly split in their views when it comes to permanent closures. Some felt they could adapt to maintain a similar lifestyle as they currently do, while others thought that they couldn't. However, over two thirds of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the benefits of where they live outweigh the negatives of potentially frequent road closures. Public transport and better internet access were among the factors that were identified as potentially helping communities while main-road access was blocked

It was also very clear that there is appetite for action. As one respondent said; "I am 29, and disappointed in the rhetoric in my community around sea level rise. We bought our first house here and moved from within the four [avenues] and want to live here for many years. We know global warming and climate change will see significant impacts on this area - please, for the sake of us and the generations younger than us, put plans in place and ACTION them, so our city is liveable into the future".

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