Community workshops to help plan the rebuild of Sydenham and Lyttelton

Christchurch City Council will launch community workshops for Sydenham and Lyttelton suburban centres next week.

Christchurch City Council has initiated a process to rebuild quake-affected Christchurch suburban commercial centres, with the Lyttelton and Sydenham centres to act as pilot redevelopment projects. Master plans will be developed for both centres with input from community leaders, building and business owners and local residents.

Community Board members and community leaders met with the Suburban Centres project team and planners at their respective sites on 18 May ahead of focus group sessions for key stakeholders and workshops for the local community.

Christchurch City Council Strategy Support Manager Richard Ball says the community workshops will provide an opportunity for people to identify issues, concerns and aspirations for their centre.

“We want to hear their ideas - they know what they value about their centre or what they want to improve, the workshops will help translate ideas and visions into actions.”

Urban design team Urbanismplus has been brought in to help with the master planning process and will led the ‘design element’ of the workshop, providing an opportunity to propose, discuss and test ideas for rebuilding and regeneration of these centres.

Mayor Bob Parker says the response so far from community boards, community leaders, central and regional government agencies, residents, community groups and any other organisations has been tremendous and is a positive step forward for these centres.

“Involvement from the community will be crucial for the next stage; as they will ‘own’ the master plan when it is delivered later in the year. We need to get it right and I would therefore encourage locals and other interested parties to get involved – all ideas are welcomed.”

Community workshops:

Sydenham community workshop

Tuesday 31 May 

6.30pm to 8.00pm 

Sydenham Bowls Club 230 Brougham St

Lyttelton community workshop

Wednesday 1 June

7:00pm to 8:30pm

or

  

Thursday 2 June

1:00pm to 2:30pm

Marquee on the green adjacent to Lyttelton Main School, 26 Oxford Street.

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.

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.

The support Council is able to give to each centre will depend on the nature and scale of the issues and the available resources. It is not ‘one-size-fits-all’.

The master planning process will be a collaborative effort involving the Council, Community Boards, local residents and stakeholders for each centre. Stakeholders include business operators, building and land owners, central and regional government agencies, residents, community groups and any other organisations that have a stake in the local community for each centre

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

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