A lack of action in the East Frame has prompted a Christchurch City Councillor to call for Fletcher Building to be stripped of a contract to build 900 townhouses and apartments.
Work on the first residential area along Manchester Street began last year, and earthworks are underway on the site for another 94 homes.
But councillor Jamie Gough says there's been hardly any progress.
"That would be fine if they were actually delivering the product that we expected them to and they promised they would, but they're not. I think it's time to call them out and for them to be stripped off the [contract] and actually hand it to someone who will get on with it, because this is way too important."
It's understood Fletcher has a series of performance targets to meet on the overall project by 2019, or it could be pulled.
Gough says action is needed now, as it's beyond obvious the company won't make the deadline.
"I just don't think we can sit here if we are going to offer genuine leadership in this rebuild and watch this slow motion train wreck occur right before our eyes and then in 2019 say they haven't delivered it. We know they're not going to deliver, they know they're not going to deliver it."
Gough wants each super block to be tendered out to companies which will be capable of delivering what the city needs.
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