Council announces new naming policy prompted by “lack of diversity”

The Christchurch City Council has announced a new policy for choosing names for roads, parks and facilities because of a “lack of diversity.”

Responsibility for naming public and private roads, and council owned parks and facilities lies with the city’s six Community Boards and on average more than sixty names are decided on each year.

Council Head of Strategic Policy and Resilience David Griffiths said "Community Boards have been concerned that these policies are not helpful for the community or the Boards when making the decisions.”

Community Boards were concerned about the current naming policies and the lack of diversity in the names presented to them for consideration and approval.

“To address these concerns a draft replacement Naming Policy has been developed and will be presented to the 5 July Council meeting.

“The guidance covers the use of te reo Māori names and names that reflect the city’s heritage and its diverse cultures.

The proposal states that when a Māori name is “gifted” by local Iwi - it is accepted.

“One change we propose is that the draft policy does not require that 85 percent residents and owners give their consent to any change in road names.

“While we recognise that consultation with people and businesses directly affected by a name change is needed, any decision to alter a name should be based on a number of factors, including community views, and the draft policy reflects this.”

“It also allows for dual names for parks and facilities but is not directive as to when dual names should be adopted.

“While it is recognised that consultation with those affected by a name change is undoubtedly necessary, a decision to change a name should be based on wider considerations rather than be bound by what is essentially a poll particularly where there a compelling reason for a name change.

“The Council has an important leadership role to play both in honouring our heritage and celebrating diversity so it’s important we have the policy framework and the guidelines to enable us to do that.”

If approved by Councillors, the draft naming policy will go out for public feedback later this month.

It said the current framework at many shortcomings including “a lack of criteria for the assessment of names, an absence of guidance on the appropriate use of Māori names, including gifted or dual names and the lack of guidance for making decisions on changing or altering names.

“In respect to the Council’s partnership with Papatipu Rūnanga, staff considered that the existing policies were inadequate in respect of the use of Māori names.”