It was “a small win for now”, Papanui councillor Victoria Henstock said, but she still backs the community’s call for the council to get trucks off Grassmere St and create alternative access.

The changes were made days after Jason Hitchens - backed by a petition with more than 200 signatories - told the Christchurch City Council his community were concerned it would be only a matter of time before the stream of heavy trucks were involved in an accident.

He and other locals had filmed the trucks struggling to navigate the narrow street and said they were not stopping for users of the popular cycle way.

The council quickly amended the traffic management plan, with a spokesperson saying a marshal would now manage the cycle path while the site was being accessed.

Access was restricted between 8am-9am and 2.15pm-3.15pm to coincide with school hours. A visit from The Press before 3pm found no activity near the site - as per the rules - and a cyclist confirmed there was usually a person helping them pass.

The council spokesperson confirmed there was a complaint about trucking movements on Friday and Monday in breach of the plan, but the contractor - who said they had not fully understood the conditions - said it would not happen again.

There would be random monitoring to ensure conditions were met, the spokesperson said.

Henstock said complaints had eased in the past couple of days.

“It’s a small win for now, but I’m not taking the heat off yet,” she said.

“The locals are very engaged. They’re pleased with the measures that have been taken, but they still want trucks off Grassmere St.”

She said the council was working hard on plans to create an alternative route for contractors, which a council spokesperson said may be from Cranford St.

The council would update the public when there was more certainty around the timing - it may require agreements with neighbours and consent, the spokesperson said.

Sinéad Gill is a senior reporter with a focus on local government.

As part of the developer’s resource consent, trucks have been transporting material to the site as part of a trial to see how the flood and liquefaction-prone land on Grassmere St - on the fringe of the Cranford St basin - handled it.

The land was unlocked for residential housing in 2017, but the development has faced lengthy delays due to concerns about the land and the need for infrastructure upgrades, like additional stormwater capacity.

According to their application to the Government’s fast track list, Grassmere Estates planned to build over 500 homes across multiple stages. Landowners included Richard Peebles and Ryan Geddes, but the company behind the development, Grassmere Estates Ltd, was led by Simon Abbot.

Abbot declined to comment to The Press on this matter.