MARC GREENHILL

Key decisions on Christchurch's annual plan could become irrelevant once the Government's central-city blueprint is finished, councillors fear.

Annual plan hearings will begin tomorrow, but some councillors are still unsure what it will mean, with the Government-led Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU) blueprint not due for release until July.

Cr Yani Johanson said it was "pretty clear we're not in control here".

The Government was "basically going to tell us where things go and what they are", and the council would fund it, Johanson said. He said the CCDU blueprint should have been released before the draft annual plan was approved.

In emails to the Save Centennial Pool group, Cr Sally Buck said the CCDU had removed the council from central-city decision-making, and Cr Jamie Gough said it made sense to wait until the unit's plan was finalised.

Cr Aaron Keown said he was "comfortable" with council staff working with the unit.

"The central-city plan may skew things in the future, but let's see what it is before we criticise it," he said.

Save Centennial Pool spokeswoman Simone Pearson said the number of agencies involved in the central-city recovery had confused the public. "Up until now there have been no comments regarding the relationship between the draft central-city plan and the anchor projects plan. There's been no obvious connection made in the documentation," she said.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said the annual plan "does matter".

Read more here:
Councillors in limbo over plan's longevity