First chance to help shape red zone’s future

  • Gerry Brownlee
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says he expects huge participation in the public engagement process to determine the future use of the Waimakariri District’s residential red zones.

“A public engagement campaign launches today,” Mr Brownlee says.

“It’s designed to give as many individuals and groups as possible the opportunity to put forward their ideas for the land most affected by the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

“This campaign is supported by the key agencies and strategic partners who are working together to rebuild the region, including the Waimakariri District Council, the Christchurch City Council and Te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu.

“Critical issues needed to be considered before this process could begin, including how horizontal infrastructure within the red zones might be repaired, maintained or removed, as well as issues like flood mitigation.

“Waimakariri District is dealing with a far smaller land area than Christchurch City in this respect, so has identified what essential infrastructure is required and is now in a position to get the public engagement process underway.

“We’re all very keen to hear what ideas the community will contribute.”

Approximately one square kilometre of land has been zoned red in the Waimakariri District in Kaiapoi, Kairaki and Pines Beaches.

“While that might not sound like a terribly large space, it amounts to an area the size of 74 rugby fields plus 1800 tennis courts, with a bit of space left over,” Mr Brownlee says.

Waimakariri District Mayor David Ayers says there is considerable interest in the local community, particularly in the Kaiapoi-Pines-Kairaki area, over the future of our residential red zones.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to create something positive out of an experience which has been so difficult for so many people.

“It’s great to be getting this community discussion under way,” Mr Ayers says.

Of the 1048 properties red-zoned in the Waimakariri District, owners of just 36 properties have chosen not to accept a voluntary offer from the Crown.

The broader public engagement campaign to determine the future use of all of the residential red zones across greater Christchurch is called Canvas, and will be run by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), working with the Waimakariri District Council to co-host the face-to-face engagement with the local community.

People can go to the canvas website – www.canvasredzone.org.nz – to contribute their ideas, find out more about the land and see what others are saying.  There will also be community meetings and other opportunities to join the conversation.

The campaign will later be extended to offer a chance for people to make suggestions on the future use of the residential red zones within Christchurch.

“Christchurch city  has a much bigger job on its hands making decisions about remaining horizontal infrastructure and flood mitigation,” Mr Brownlee says.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel says this work is a priority for the council.

“We want to ensure residents’ groups and others with an interest in how the red zone is used are fully involved in the public engagement and we’re working to get that conversation started as soon as possible.

“We’re anxious to capture the collective community knowledge that exists about this land so we can ensure it becomes a major asset to the city as a whole,” she says.

CERA chief executive Roger Sutton says he has received a lot of informal feedback and suggestions from a wide range of people and groups, and that having a vast range of ideas will be very exciting.

“I’m confident this process will provide us with even more to think about.

“We look forward to hearing from everyone who wants to be part of shaping the future of our region, and again showing that our community is a world leader in recovery from natural disaster.”