17/09/2026
‘All risk, no care, is no way to build a community.’ - this sums it up!
Fast Track is a shoddy mess and that’s an understatement!- great article….
This week at council a developer who has built a fair amount of Lincoln, Rolleston and by the sounds of how he was talking - New Zealand, came to tell us about how ‘we’ were doing everything wrong and the poor developers could only build urban sprawl with absolutely no regard to the the environment, the community and other small issues such as social cohesion, tree canopy highly productive land and general infrastructure.
He talked about the 6 major developers and how they should all work together - well why don’t they!
What would be nice is if there was accountability for the quality of what they do - put people before profit, put in some urban design, support for the community, contribute properly to the urban landscape by say partnering in a performing arts centre; partnering in the purchase of Broadfield Gardens; sponsoring some education or health hubs, an eco restoration for Rolleston (if that’s possible) and shared sports facilities rather than just fitting in the most boxes to make the most profit?
What a wonderful world this would be!
Analysis: Yes, the development levy is a new tax – but the alternative is ratepayers and water users subsidising the profits of big property firms like Chris Meehan's Winton.
