Revamp for unique street

Christchurch’s New Regent Street will soon be the focus of a major heritage project as part of the Christchurch City Council’s central city revitalisation programme.

The New Regent Street shops are listed as Group 2 in the City Plan, as having national or regional heritage significance, and registered as Category 1 by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

The Council is targeting a portion of its Heritage Incentive Grant funding over the next five years to support the necessary repairs, repainting, seismic upgrades and replacement of decorative tiling on the 40 shops that comprise the distinctive street.

Based on 2007 figures, the upgrade is likely to cost about $1.4 million for the whole street, with the cost for each property varying. Of this, the Council can provide grant money of up to 40% of the cost per property. The Council is expecting this to total about $500,000 over the life of the project.

This month property owners and tenants will receive a letter from the Council inviting them to participate in the partnership project, and outlining the works eligible for grant funding. Preliminary discussions with owners have been very positive, and according to Council Urban Designer Brendan Smyth and Heritage Conservation Projects Planner Victoria Bliss, a number of property owners have already expressed an interest in taking up the offer.

Mr Smyth and Miss Bliss said that over the past six years, the Council had funded architectural and seismic investigations and condition reports in a number of units in the street, and a Conservation Plan for the street was being prepared.

The background research has enabled them to identify common structural and maintenance issues across the street, which include the need for seismic upgrades, cavity wall tie renewal, parapet waterproofing, roofing repairs, plaster façade repairs, repainting, and replacement and repair of the original decorative tiling.

Council staff have worked in conjunction with New Zealand Historic Places Trust to source a specialist ceramicist able to replicate the unique hand painted tiles which are such an important decorative element to the street.

They are now working together to identify New Regent Street’s original colour scheme, and investigating options to install replicas of the terracotta Spanish tiles which formerly topped the sloping concrete panels on alternate shop units.