Christchurch City Council plans to ban new office buildings in the suburbs are too little, too late, a central Christchurch property owner says.
The council's draft district plan wants to restrict new developments in places such as Addington and the airport, as a way of encouraging tenants back to the central city.
Since the Canterbury earthquakes, Christchurch has experienced a boom in new office space on the edge of the city in areas including Victoria Street and Addington.
Building in these areas puts developers outside the rules which apply to new buildings inside the central city as part of the Government's blueprint. But the council wants to turn the tide and redirect new office space back to the central business district (CBD).
Ashton Owen, who owns a soon-to-be completed central city office block, welcomed the proposed new rules but said it would take at least a year before they came into force - even if they were introduced.
"It's just way too late; you know it should have come out initially when the blueprint was out to give people confidence in the city."
Mr Owen said the horse had bolted, and he was struggling to find tenants for his building because demand in the city was already being met by new office space in the suburbs.
The council's city planning manager, Brigitte de Ronde, said it was trying to stem the flow of businesses from the CBD through the ban, without which it could take years for the city to regain its CBD.
"Office and retail is critical to a vibrant city space. A city isn't just eateries and entertainment, it needs a vast array of different types of activities that occur."
Ms de Ronde hoped the proposed changes would be fast-tracked using the Earthquake Recovery Act and they would in place within two years.
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