Process for suburban centres rebuild underway

The Christchurch City Council has begun a process to rebuild quake-affected Christchurch suburban commercial centres, with the Lyttelton and Sydenham centres to act as pilot redevelopment projects.

Community Board members were briefed on the Suburban Centres Programme last night, ahead of a community involvement process to support the regeneration of severely damaged centres.

Christchurch City Council Strategy Support Manager Richard Ball says initial scoping work on the suburban centre rebuild has started, and an expert urban design team has been brought in to help with the process.

The Suburban Centres Programme will feature two streams of work; one stream will see the development of ‘master plans’ for some of the worst affected suburbs, and the other stream will see the appointment of ‘case managers’ to other affected suburban hubs that may require assistance with planning their rebuild.

“We need to support the recovery of our suburban hubs after the February 22 earthquake,” Mr Ball says.  “The first two centres to have plans developed will be Lyttelton and Sydenham. The reasons for their priority are three-fold: the extent of the earthquake damage demands it, the size and configuration of the centre, and the planning and revitalisation work which had already been done prior to the February earthquake.”

Mr Ball said while Lyttelton and Sydenham were the first two suburban centres to start the rebuild process, other centres would follow.

“These two suburbs will act as pilot projects. The support we are able to give to each centre will depend on the nature and scale of the issues and the resources we have available. It is not ‘one-size-fits-all’.

“We want the community, business sector and residents to be a part of the process and have their say. Engaging with those groups will be vital to the successful rebuild of the affected suburbs.”

Mayor Bob Parker said the launch of the Suburban Centres Programme was an important milestone for the city.

“The damage to suburban centres means communities have lost their focal point. We have to look at this as an opportunity to bring our communities back together. The Council is working hard to get this process underway and I urge everyone to get involved and be a part of shaping your community.”

A timeline around this project, including the extent of assistance able to be provided is being developed.

For further information on the project contact: suburbancentres@ccc.govt.nz.

Or visit: http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/policiesreportsstrategies/SuburbanCentresProgramme.aspx