{"id":540021,"date":"2026-07-23T08:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T08:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/540021\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T08:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T08:21:09","slug":"opposition-to-golf-course-to-housing-proposal-tees-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/540021\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition to golf course-to-housing proposal tees off"},"content":{"rendered":"

A proposal to convert a North Canterbury golf course into housing<\/a> has not been accepted into the Fast-track approvals process \u2013 yet.<\/p>\n

By David Hill of Local Democracy Reporting<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop confirmed on Monday no referral application had been lodged.<\/p>\n

Wolfbrook Property Group informed the Waimakariri District Council on June 25 of its intention to use the Fast-track process to seek residential zoning for the Pegasus Golf Course.<\/p>\n

It led to speculation on social media the Fast-track process was already under way.<\/p>\n

The proposal has attracted considerable community opposition.<\/p>\n

Pegasus Residents’ Group Inc presented a 16,000 signature petition opposing the development to Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey and Labour List MP Dan Rosewarne on the steps of Parliament at midday yesterday. <\/p>\n

The golf course was subject to a special purpose zoning, which recognised its role as a key amenity and defining feature of Pegasus.<\/p>\n

Under the legislation, applicants were required to undertake pre-lodgement steps before applying to the Infrastructure Minister for an application to be referred to the Fast-track process.<\/p>\n

This included notifying interested parties, including local councils, in writing and allowing 20-working days for the parties to respond.<\/p>\n

This meant Wolfbrook could lodge a referral application with the Infrastructure Minister next week.<\/p>\n

When announcing the purchase of the golf course in May, Wolfbrook chief executive Guy Randall said the development would bring much needed housing for the region.<\/p>\n

“This is a long-term project that has the potential to deliver substantial housing supply for Canterbury, while still respecting the character and lifestyle that makes Pegasus unique.” <\/p>\n

But Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon said his council was opposed to the proposed development.<\/p>\n

He said the partially operative Waimakariri District Plan, adopted last year, had opened up land for up to 17,000 homes over the next 30 years.<\/p>\n

“There are large-scale developments already under way to meet this need, including the Stokes development (Gressons Rd, Woodend) and ongoing construction within Ravenswood\/Woodend, as well as Rangiora and Kaiapoi.<\/p>\n

“Simply, rezoning the Pegasus Golf Course for housing is neither appropriate to the community nor necessary to enable additional housing supply.”<\/p>\n

Gordon was in Wellington on Wednesday to support the Pegasus Residents\u2019 Group.<\/p>\n

Wolfbrook has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Carter Group has lodged a substantive application for the consideration under the Fast-track process for its proposed 870 home development at Ohoka.<\/p>\n

In a letter supporting the application, Carter Group fast-track project manager Tim Carter said the land was “well suited for development”.<\/p>\n

“The Waimakariri district is constrained in terms of suitable locations for large-scale residential development, with many areas affected by natural hazards, highly productive land classifications, or other planning constraints.”<\/p>\n

Ohoka was close to Christchurch International Airport and the city, was connected to existing and proposed active transport networks and “has clear potential to accommodate planned, high-quality growth”.<\/p>\n

The council and local residents have opposed the development, citing a lack of infrastructure, transportation options and drainage issues.<\/p>\n

It has been rejected by two independent hearing commissioners and is subject to an Environment Court appeal.<\/p>\n

\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A proposal to convert a North Canterbury golf course into housing has not been accepted into the Fast-track…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[158,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-540021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-christchurch-canterbury","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}