42 | Planz Consultants REGIONAL T T Rosa Watson Planning expertise across the board Key projects in which Planz has been involved in the post-earthquake era include the Hagley Oval development in Christchurch. Working behind the scenes on a number of recent major developments in the Canterbury region has been Christchurch-based Planz Consultants. The firm specialises in a wide range of planning services, including resource consents, policy development, land use planning, environmental impact and compliance assessments, urban design, iwi liaison, plan changes and growth strategies. In many projects the team take a leadership and management role. There is also a team of senior planners, who act as hearing commissioners or sit on fast-track panels. Director, Dean Chrystal, says the firm is often at the front end of a project, providing initial advice on consenting strategies, site selection, areas of risk, and ultimately whether the project is consentable. “We generally take a lead role in projects, whether they be resource consents, changes to district plans or fast-track projects, including organising other experts and reviewing their work, liaising with the client and preparing and coordinateing the assessment of effects documentation,” Dean says. “Planz is outcome focused – we look for solutions rather than providing barriers.” The firm has been involved in enabling a wide range of developments in the Canterbury region and further afield over many years through obtaining resource consents and changes to district plans to facilitate development. “As an independent planning firm, we are able to critically assess projects, provide robust feedback and identify solutions moving forward,” Dean says. “Our approach is to recognise that sustainability extends beyond environmental effects. It involves constructive consultation with stakeholders, ensuring local knowledge and values are appropriately reflected in a project and helping to identify and resolve issues early.” Team members have also acted as commissioners on major projects in the Canterbury region, such as the Central Plains Irrigation scheme, Mt Cass Windfarm, Waimakariri Irrigation Dam, Christchurch Adventure Park, Normanby State Highway deviation, and the Oxford landfill. Dean says that there is plenty of development coming on stream in the Canterbury region. “There are a number of fast-track projects listed, of which six have so far been approved, and there are a range of other projects seeking approval. Planz is involved in many of those, either driving the consenting process or being involved in the decision making.” The biggest challenge for many, currently, are reforms to the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the changes that will bring over the coming months and following years in transitioning away from the old RMA process. “It presents a challenge for those navigating the new system and also adapting to a necessary new culture in practice, which is more outcome focused,” Dean says. The firm was established in the early 1990s by well-known New Zealand planner, Bob Batty, and has since grown from a single-person operation to 20 staff. Today, it remains a proudly New Zealand-owned and independent company operating across the country with staff in Christchurch (Ōtautahi), Nelson (Whakatū), Dunedin (Ōtepoti), and Whangārei. Key projects in which Planz has been involved in the post-earthquake era include the Hagley Oval development – the first completed anchor project, the development of the Fonterra plant at Darfield, the Lyttleton Port Recovery Plan, the Christchurch Cathedral and Christchurch Town Hall reinstatements, the Tūranga central city library and Bus Exchange, the Tannery and Ravenscar House developments, He Puna Taimoana hot pools at New Brighton, and the Port of Tauranga and Port of Lyttelton Inland Ports at Rolleston. It has also worked on the Christchurch Airport commercial area, the new Court Theatre, Canterbury University digital screen campus, Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust developments, the Rolleston High Street development, and Otago University’s Hākitekura, an academic retreat and conference facility at Woolshed Bay in Queenstown. Planz has won a number of awards from the New Zealand Planning Institute for projects it has led, including the Selwyn District Council Plan Change 7 that initially unlocked 810ha of land, enabling the accommodation of 8800 new residential households in Lincoln and Rolleston, the Christchurch Botanic Proudly supporting Planz Consulting , every step of the way. Working together and supporting each other.
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