April 27, 2026
Selwyn District has been hitting the headlines for its building boom, and just down the road tradies are being kept busy in Ashburton too.
The Ashburton District Council figures show there have been 218 new house consents to the end of March in 2025/26, compared to 139 in the same period in the previous year.
Community and open spaces general manager Toni Durham said there have been 71 house consents from January to March this year, compared to 41 in the same period in 2025.
Around 11% of the new housing consents in the district are in Methven.
Durham said the increase is a mixture of new subdivisions becoming available and filling up existing ones and the council has been monitoring the growth.
“Our district has been growing since the 1990s. The population grew 10% between 2018 and 2023, and we are currently updating our growth assumptions from medium to medium-high.
“Council has planned for this growth through its long-term and annual plans, and water services delivery plan.
“More people means more ratepayers to cover costs, and we also collect development contributions from new home builders that help pay for growth to infrastructure - like our drinking water and wastewater networks.”
Durham said the council strongly believes that growth should pay for growth and which has been a key driver behind its review of the development contributions policy.
“The changes we're proposing include increasing development contributions to more accurately reflect the actual cost of growth, introducing a new contribution for district roading and collecting contributions earlier during the subdivision stage.
“We believe these will help ensure that growth pays its fair share without burdening existing ratepayers.”
Consultation on the draft development and financial contributions policy closes on May 10.
Selwyn’s growth is on a different scale.
The district has had 1540 new home consents so far in 2024/25 – including 571 from January to March.
Selwyn had 1422 new homes consented in 2024/2025.
The growth shows no signs of slowing down, with several new subdivisions or new stages of existing subdivisions driving growth.
Major developments in Rolleston include a 3,500-home planned subdivision in the south-west by the Carter Group and a 160ha development, around 2,500 homes, on the north-west side of town by Urban Estates.
The Carter Group also has Earlsbrook in Lincoln, a multi-stage development spanning 170 hectares that will provide 2,100 residential sections in total.
And it’s not just in Rolleston and Lincoln.
Birchs Village in Prebbleton is also seeking fast-track approval to develop around 530 residential allotments and a commercial precinct.
Hughes Developments is planning Bangor Village, an up to 800-home subdivision on the edge of Darfield.
It is using the Government’s fast-track process to get consent, and if approved, could increase Darfield’s population by 50%.
By Jonathan Leask
Selwyn District has been hitting the headlines for its building boom, and just down the road tradies are being kept busy in Ashburton too.
The Ashburton District Council figures show there have been 218 new house consents to the end of March in 2025/26, compared to 139 in the same period in the previous year.
Community and open spaces general manager Toni Durham said there have been 71 house consents from January to March this year, compared to 41 in the same period in 2025.
Around 11% of the new housing consents in the district are in Methven.
Durham said the increase is a mixture of new subdivisions becoming available and filling up existing ones and the council has been monitoring the growth.
“Our district has been growing since the 1990s. The population grew 10% between 2018 and 2023, and we are currently updating our growth assumptions from medium to medium-high.
“Council has planned for this growth through its long-term and annual plans, and water services delivery plan.
“More people means more ratepayers to cover costs, and we also collect development contributions from new home builders that help pay for growth to infrastructure - like our drinking water and wastewater networks.”
Durham said the council strongly believes that growth should pay for growth and which has been a key driver behind its review of the development contributions policy.
“The changes we're proposing include increasing development contributions to more accurately reflect the actual cost of growth, introducing a new contribution for district roading and collecting contributions earlier during the subdivision stage.
“We believe these will help ensure that growth pays its fair share without burdening existing ratepayers.”
Consultation on the draft development and financial contributions policy closes on May 10.
Selwyn’s growth is on a different scale.
The district has had 1540 new home consents so far in 2024/25 – including 571 from January to March.
Selwyn had 1422 new homes consented in 2024/2025.
The growth shows no signs of slowing down, with several new subdivisions or new stages of existing subdivisions driving growth.
Major developments in Rolleston include a 3,500-home planned subdivision in the south-west by the Carter Group and a 160ha development, around 2,500 homes, on the north-west side of town by Urban Estates.
The Carter Group also has Earlsbrook in Lincoln, a multi-stage development spanning 170 hectares that will provide 2,100 residential sections in total.
And it’s not just in Rolleston and Lincoln.
Birchs Village in Prebbleton is also seeking fast-track approval to develop around 530 residential allotments and a commercial precinct.
Hughes Developments is planning Bangor Village, an up to 800-home subdivision on the edge of Darfield.
It is using the Government’s fast-track process to get consent, and if approved, could increase Darfield’s population by 50%.
By Jonathan Leask
