CERA delays review again

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority has delayed a review of land zoning decisions on the Port Hills above Christchurch for a second time.

The review was initially delayed over the Christmas break and should have been completed by the end of February.

But now authority chief executive Roger Sutton said although the team reviewing the land zoning is making "steady progress", the work is still "some weeks away" from being delivered to Cabinet.

"I personally called some of these residents before Christmas to let them know the process was not going to be completed on time, and they were very understanding," Mr Sutton said.

"No-one - not the residents, or the review team - want the outcome to be anything other than correct.

"I am disappointed that we have to delay this outcome once again, but the rationale remains. If we did a half-baked job, we'd all be unhappy about that too. We are still some weeks away from finalising the work."

Mr Sutton said the review considers applications from more than 100 Port Hills property owners, but as with the flat land, also considers other boundary properties.

"It is important that all property owners in the Port Hills who are near the zone boundaries be aware that the review is looking at the entire area."

He said owners of any property affected in the review will be contacted personally before any public announcement on the process is made.