Feb 20102010 has already started with a range of issues and important decisions for Christchurch.I’ll be looking forward to getting out and meeting more community, business and neighbourhood groups in 2010, so if you have an event or meeting you’d like me to attend or speak at just contact me This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Business and jobs. Economic growth One of the critical issues is looking at supporting business and maintaining and creating jobs.The regional economic development company owned by the various Canterbury Council’s; Canterbury Economic Development Limited, has selected an important range of projects to support our city’s infrastructure. These will now be put forward to NZ Trade and Enterprise (the Government’s economic development agency) for funding. They are:
Canterbury has benefited from past economic development initiatives and these have the potential to build on these earlier successes. Jobs At the same time the Canterbury Development Corporation continues with its excellent work assisting individual businesses. The CDC Fast-track business Training programme provides advice, training and mentoring the support can be tailored for any business. http://www.cdc.org.nz/main/fast-track-your-business/ Another useful service CDC provides is a summary of useful information for different sectors to help business people see what is going on in their industry. As a Council appointed director of CDC I have seen first hand some of the programmes and assistance CDC is providing. I run my a medium sized business myself and I know the support CDC is providing is adding huge value our local economy and to employment opportunities for our residents. Largest exhibition garden in Ellerslie’s 15-year historyWhile Christchurch is many things we are still the Garden City. This year’s Ellerslie International Flower Show will be worth visiting. It was announced on 11 January that Multi award-winning Chelsea Flower Show designer Chris Beardshaw has designed and will build the largest ever exhibition garden in the 15-year history of the Ellerslie International Flower Show at this year's Show. Stretching 12 metres across the shore of Victoria Lake, it will extend 64 metres into the showgrounds and is guaranteed to be a real show-stopper. With almost 10,000 plants, including 4500 annuals and 3000 herbaceous plants, this magnificent English garden will have loads of colour and plenty of fragrance, making it a real feast for all the senses. Chris Beardshaw is renowned for his formal English garden designs, having won nine Gold and Silver Gilt Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) medals, as well as many Best in Show and People’s Choice Awards and the coveted RHS Tudor Rose Award. Draft Open Space Strategy Consultation was launched late last year on the Draft Open Space Strategy, with public meetings held in the City and at Lyttelton and Akaroa. The draft strategy provides a framework to guide the provisions and development of all public open space within Christchurch and Banks Peninsula for the next 30 years. The submission period closes on Friday 22 January. Ocean Outfall While the Council is always looking at ensuring Christchurch is active and vibrant, fro example by generating leisure activities, such as the successful Summer programme including Classical Sparks, we are mindful of the basics. Recycling, rubbish, road works and sewage are issues we spend a lot of time on. Council has been keeping a watchful eye on our new ocean outfall project. The issues of cost of the project and meeting our compliance requirements have been a key focus over the last few years. Christchurch’s consent with ECAN for discharge of effluent into the estuary expires on 31 March so it is pleasing that the outfall pipeline has now been pressure tested and final commissioning should then be able to be achieved in February or early March. Despite the project programme extending well past the original completion target, the project remains on track to be delivered within budget. Staff and all those involved have worked hard and it appears the additional time and energy will pay off with a state-of-the-art system that befits our modern city. Western Interceptor – short term delays longer term benefit. Still looking at the basics, when driving around the city you may see large roadworks and pipelaying. This is likely to be the ‘Western Interceptor’ or the major sewer upgrade. Areas around Blenheim Road and Riccarton will be affected. The Western Interceptor Stage 2 (WI 2) sewer upgrade is an extension of Western Interceptor Stage 1 (Aldwins Road to Mathesons Road), which is due to be finished this month. The Western Interceptor upgrade will reduce the load on the existing trunk system and, in doing so, reduce wet weather wastewater overflows into the Avon River and support growth in Christchurch’s West and South-West.Construction of the eastern end of WI 2 (Mathesons Road to Fitzgerald Avenue) is due to finish in March at a cost of around $6 million, which is slightly below budget. Construction in Mathesons Road and St Asaph Street up to Fitzgerald Avenue has been completed, with work across the intersection planned in the coming weeks. WI 2 will be a 5km-long pipeline connecting WI 1 in Mathesons Road to the existing Southern Relief Sewer at the Dalgety Street/Blenheim Road intersection in Riccarton via a route along St Asaph Street and through Hagley Park. The total cost of WI 2 is being finalised through the tender process and a paper will come to the Council for award of the tender for works west of Fitzgerald Avenue in February. Council staff are talking to businesses along St Asaph Street and other users of the route, such as taxi and bus companies and emergency services, about ways to keep disruption to a minimum. Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre The architects are continuing to meet with Botanic Gardens staff to discuss the design and layout of the building and incorporate their feedback. They are also meeting external interested parties to describe the concept design. Detailed design is about to commence. Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu I’m pleased that all of the exhibition galleries at the Christchurch Art Gallery are now open for the first time since July last year, when the permanent collection galleries closed for refurbishing. The refurbished permanent galleries have opened and are a credit to the gallery management and staff. The Neil Pardington photography exhibition continues, as does Blue Planet (the blue-themed children’s exhibition) and Chris Heaphy’s Untitled (Bleu). They have recently been joined by Talisman (featuring the work of 12 New Zealand jewellery artists), an exhibition of watercolours by Australian artist Ricky Swallow and The Naked and the Nude. Our City O-Tautahi Our City O-Tautahi’s two most recent exhibitions, Finding New Zealand – how maps show the exploration and development of New Zealand and the A-Z of Canterbury Birds - a photographic ornithological odyssey, attracted around 5000 visitors in December. Riccarton/Wigram street work and construction
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