Last chance to have a say on the draft Outline

This will be an exciting year for Christchurch's regeneration and the draft Outline for the Ōtākaro/Avon River corridor is the first step.

We released the draft Outline for public feedback in December and time is almost up for comments. Please tell us what you think before 5pm on Tuesday 21 February.

The draft Outline explains the process we are proposing for developing a Regeneration Plan. It doesn’t set out what the draft Regeneration Plan will say, just how we will prepare it.

We are asking if the scope of this draft Outline is right – are we covering the right sized area? We also ask how people see themselves being involved and if there is anything else we should be thinking about.

Engage!

Our new online engagement platform is now up and running. It's called Engage.

It's where you can go to find the latest info about Regenerate Christchurch's plans and activities for areas including the red zone, central city and New Brighton.

We want to hear what you think and tap into local knowledge and expertise, so in the coming weeks we will switch on some cool functions to help you upload your stories, information, videos, photos, drawings and comments.

A better view

From today, we're offering a better view of information about the Ōtākaro/Avon River corridor.

A new land information viewer is now available online.

The viewer is an interactive application where layers of information - about vegetation, infrastructure or flooding for example - are displayed visually over a mapped area and can be switched on or off.

The viewer uses a responsive design, so its appearance adjusts to suit different screens, such as smart phones or tablet computers.

This information is not new, it has been brought together from existing sources and was gathered at a point in time. Our aim is to inform people and create a shared understanding of the land.

If you become a frequent flyer on our viewer, we plan to update it weekly on a Friday, so you can look out for any changes then.

We are always interested in your thoughts about what else we could add.

If you have any questions or comments about the viewer, please email info@regeneratechristchurch.nz

From Ivan

Our office looks south towards the Port Hills. As we have seen the smoke rising this week our thoughts have been with all the communities on and around the Port Hills, especially the people who have lost their homes or been evacuated.

This year sees us looking at the future of the residential red zone, particularly the Ōtākaro/Avon River corridor. When people hear about this work, the thoughts and ideas come flooding in. This is exciting. It is a real privilege to hear people’s hopes and aspirations.

We are very conscious of the need to get underway with planning for the river corridor. People are excited about what might be possible and enthusiastic about seeing progress and gaining some certainty.

We want to develop a plan that seizes this once in a lifetime opportunity to create a legacy for future generations. It would be easy to create an attractive plan but we need to do much more than this. We want to find out what the best and the biggest contribution is that this land can make to the future of Christchurch and New Zealand.

We also want to encourage people to think about what Christchurch really needs. It will cost money to build or create things in the red zone and there is no magic pot of money sitting out there ready to pay for all our ideas.

We need to be able to build a really compelling case for the Regeneration Plan to attract funding from government, the ratepayer, the community or the philanthropic and private sectors.

The first step is getting feedback on the draft Outline. Once the Outline is approved, over the next six months or so we will have many engagement opportunities with many feedback loops.

If you’re interested in being involved in the next steps, you are doing the right thing - keep reading this newsletter, following us on Facebook or visiting Engage.

Revitalising the Square and its surrounds

Here's why we're working to revitalise the Square and its surrounds. While there's lots of investment and development in Christchurch, the shaded red areas in the video show undeveloped land.

That's why we're joining with private owners, the Council and our partners to speed up development and build investor confidence in this part of the central city.

We want a vibrant heart to our city that offers a great experience for locals and tourists. In the short-term, we will also work with partners and community groups to identify and support events and activities to help revitalise these spaces.