Ethan Richardson
For Timaru council
I’m Ethan, a 23-year old worker looking to bring real action on the big issues to the council table this year. I’m active in our community and I’ve fought for quicker action on the Theatre Royal and our CBD over the past 2 years.
I was born and raised in Timaru, this town made me who I am, but too many young and working people I speak to can't see a future for themselves here. They see a future with few opportunities, more expensive housing and a dying CBD. We can do better than that future, we can build a future where jobs are plentiful, houses are affordable and our community is vibrant.
I’m standing because to build that future we need new councillors with fresh ideas who want to see bold action. Because we’ve seen over the past 3 years that many councillors would rather delay projects than make decisions. I’ll bring those fresh ideas and bold action to the council table to build a better future for Timaru.
Why I’m Standing
My Focus
creating a Vibrant CBD
Creating a better future for Timaru starts at its heart, the city centre. That’s why my focus as councillor will be creating a truly vibrant CBD with full storefronts and urban residential living.
To do this I'll support building on our investments like the heritage hub and the Strathallen corner upgrade, making the CBD a people friendly place where people want To go.
I'll make it easier for businesses to get things done and navigate bureaucracy, at the moment businesses are spending months trying to get easy wins like outdoor seating over the line. We can make it easier for the businesses trying to make this community better.
We've also made it too difficult to create homes and rental units in the CBD. I'll look at how the council can work with investors to build housing in the CBD, and how to ease unnecessary rules so we can retrofit more buildings into housing.
Our City Centre may be struggling, but I truly believe it can continue to be the heart of Timaru with the right investment and help.
Keeping Housing Affordable
We've taken affordable house prices for granted for too long in Timaru. Over the past few years we've seen rents jump 8% a year and house prices just keep rising. Housing is the biggest everyday cost for most people, and I believe the council can do more to keep it affordable.
The council has a lot of power over housing, such as how many houses can be built and how easy it is to build those houses through the District Plan. As a lack of houses is the primary reason for high housing costs, here are my 5 action points for getting more homes built in Timaru.
Make the rules for retrofitting CBD buildings into houses consistent and easier to follow to make it easier for community minded developers to invest in a vibrant CBD.
Attract new apartments and town houses to the CBD through better rules for new builds and actively pursuing investment opportunities through Venture Timaru.
Unlock more land for Greenfield development. Much of Timaru’s land zoned for new development has been unused for decades, we should open up flatter, more desirable land for development and have growth pay for growth with development contributions.
Allow town houses and a better variety of housing throughout urban Timaru. In the proposed district plan, Timaru is set to limit the affordability of much of the town by only allowing single-family homes and mandating lawn sizes in many sections of the town. I would work to allow more small-scale town houses in more of the district for young couples and downsizing seniors.
Set up a hub or point person for developers. Too often small and new developers get contradictory advice from council, if we want more homes built in our CBD we have to make our rules easy to understand with wraparound service.
While I would be just 1 of 10 councillors, these are my priorities to make Timaru’s housing more affordable. One of our best assets as a district has been our comparatively affordable housing, I’ll work to make sure it stays that way.
Get In Touch
Community is at the core of this campaign, so I'd love to hear from anyone and everyone. Let me know what questions you have for me and I'll get back to you!