Hard News: Christchurch: Is "quite good" good enough?
459 Responses
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
Well put, Lilith, I fully agree.
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Sacha, in reply to
I'm well aware of the context, thanks. This govt and their parties deserve credit for some things, but not the one you suggested, that's all.
I'm certainly not offended by disagreement. Certainly am by some of the stuff that's being done (and not done) in our name, regardless of ideology. It doesn't make sense from most angles of integrity. Traditional conservative voters must be appalled at the wasteful pork-barrelling going on. And liberals by government telling others what to do so much.
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A couple of unconnected thoughts that popped up over the weekend. First, the proposed stadium is meant to be a great venue for concerts. But unlike Dunedin - which has only had the one big concert and don't have any more on the horizon - Christchurch still has other indoor concert venues. If the covered stadium were to be a concert venue, it would be cannibalising business from other venues, such as the CBS Arena at Addington - which is a council-owned facility. Pitching one council-owned asset against another.
Secondly ... the Frame runs between Madras and Manchester St. Now, aside from bookstores, what else was Manchester St known for pre-quakes? Are we going to create a 1km long park land for prostitution? Is that the safe, clean green vision for the "new Christchurch?"
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
Good money after bad...
Pitching one council-owned asset against another...
Speaking of which, the $4.9 million asset 'we' acquired off l'il Davey Henderson, went up in smoke at the weekend, I note in the comments that:
According to the CCC Insurance schedule it was insured for $577K Demolition Value.
I believe the Para Rubber building (also bought from Henderson) was under insured when it was damaged in the earthquakes - you'd think when your Town Clerk (er CEO) was also on the board of the Council's Insurance company he'd have been more savvy about making sure his primary job's interests were well covered, otherwise why would he create such a massive conflict of interest ...
A new Red Zone?
Are we going to create a 1km long park land for prostitution?
Is that the safe, clean green vision for the “new Christchurch?”This is known as the 'prophylactic approach' to urban blight and would ensure that there were people in the area all the time :- )
Otherwise those block wide green wastelands will be a serious no go zone at night - one assumes they have thought about policing these areas (and the cost thereof)... -
Leigh Russell, in reply to
Russell Brown, in reply to Leigh Russell, About 22 hours ago
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I had fun explaining New Zealand’s geological hazards to my friend’s British partner yesterday. His eyes widened as we went through Auckland’s volcanic risks – “and then of course there’s Taupo. It’s really game over for New Zealand if that blows.”
Hi Russell, of course England has its own earthquake risks about which the English are likely to be more complacent than even we have been about ours! But at least they are Most Unlikely to have eruptions of the volcanic variety!! Taupo is indeed something quite out of the ordinary!
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
Good money after bad…
So, $4.9 mil , 577k , just doing the math . Who loses here again?The old cruddy vandalised building was obviously rubbish before the Quakes. (and I bet they knew it)
As far as Stadiums, concerts etc goes, if there is more than one asset for this sort of carry on, you can bet the deduction will be "Council says sell."
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
Dungers and Dragoons...
The old cruddy vandalised building was
obviously rubbish before the QuakesI don't believe it was that cruddy, it was a pretty solid looking viable stove manufacturing plant prior to Hendo/Council's stewardship - in fact Henderson still had his Russian MiG fighter jet stored in the old Electrolux complex until its recent sale by receivers - as far as I know the Council has not confirmed if he was paying rent or storage fees... unfortunately Welles Street is a seldom travelled side street outside the Red Zone of a dead city with stretched resources, no private security here (even for Council assets it seems) - anything can happen...
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Just picking this out of RB's twitter feed:
Cities as Gadgets: 8 Features This Brand-New City Has That Yours Doesn't
Interesting stuff.
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Rich of Observationz, in reply to
It looks frigging heinous to me. Give me Wellington anyday.
Where's the cheap-rent neighbourhood where creativity can thrive? Don't tell me, in a special newly built area with an eruv around it and "Creativity Quarter" signage.
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Chch has an opportunity to learn from Dunedin's stadium experience, which I feel is mixed (others such as Paul are more anti).
The insurance payout and the population will help make it financially more viable. Simply put, Dunedin's stadium is a large drain on not enough people.
You'd be silly to build it and not put a roof on it. Just in terms of the events it allows you to attract and guarantee quality this is worth it, but the viewing experience is much better.
It has to be properly multi-event. Rugby can't support a stadium by itself, the field needs to be used for other activities such as soccer, rugby league, concerts, and the buildings around it need to be stadium seats and facilities on one side, and something else on the other - office space, educational facilities. City council offices would make sense.
Can't be in a residential area. This promotes the multi-use - noise, lights etc, but also helps with parking - evening events in Dunedin can use all the parking around the university and polytechnic that are filled with cars during the day.
Walking distance of town - reduces transport issues, but makes attending something at the stadium part of a day's/evening's entertainment. Going from early dinner to a game to the pub/nightclub makes sense.
Size - once they get big the costs start to blow out, and the returns aren't there. The competition is Wellington and Dunedin, once you're close to that size, there's no point adding another $5,000 seats.Dunedin got these about half right I feel - really overreached on cost and ability to pay.
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Lilith __, in reply to
It looks frigging heinous to me
They've come up with a whole bunch of innovative ideas, which is a lot more than our planners have. Doesn't mean these particular ideas would suit Chch, but we could think up some of our own! Creativity doesn't have to be a low-rent thing that happens in sheds on the crummy side of town. Creativity could be the driving force behind the rebuild.
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Lilith __, in reply to
You’d be silly to build it and not put a roof on it.
We did that already. Yes, it’s supposed to be temporary. And note it’s currently run as a charity. And it’s been running well under the 18,000 capacity. Couldn't we just put a roof on this one?*
*naive question, but one I haven't heard answered.
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
Henderson still had his Russian MiG fighter jet stored in the old Electrolux complex until its recent sale by receivers
So, a garage then. ;)
I actually love old buildings, just thought the CCCouncil mightn't. Or as you said insurance did not reflect it's purchase value.
Here is one I wanted to buy many years ago. Now Mr Jecentho is doing it up for heritage reasons along with his business being in there. The old Oruru Dairy Coop. -
Leigh Russell, in reply to
Where’s the cheap-rent neighbourhood where creativity can thrive? Don’t tell me, in a special newly built area with an eruv around it and “Creativity Quarter” signage.
Look for the Innovation precinct on The Plan of The Blueprint! I'm not joking! I don't know what to think about that notion, and felt a cold sense of doom in noticing that Alice's in Videoland already occupies part of that area. It's worth looking at the actual map to see exactly where these precincts are expected to end up and what other owners and users can be expected to get pushed out and their buildings pushed over... I'm still in disbelief and am appalled about this aspect of planning, so-called. I find it surreal. I mean, this is New Zealand, right? Maybe it's just a nightmare and I'll wake up. Maybe we will all wake up. I think a big fuss needs to be made about the absence of democratic process here.
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It would be a matter of supreme irony if the building owned and occupied by Alice's in Videoland was demolished: it was one of the few buildings to survive the earthquakes in fine good style, having been 'over-engineered' in the wake of the Napier earthquake of 1931. The surrounding buildings suffered severe damage as you can see from photographs included in my article "Alice in Videoland stands strong amidst the ruins ~ High Street, not so good". Since that photograph was taken in March new construction has begun in the adjacent block between Tuam and St Asaph and Manchester Steets. I'm guessing that these are the new constructions that are being stopped and will be demolished as mentioned in my recent article. Does anyone have any more information about this?
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
NZ gets the ashes...
...eruptions of the volcanic variety!!
Ask and you shall receive - Tongariro has erupted overnight and White Island is on alert... oh the joys of living in dynamic world, eh!
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
Hello Ian, yes, how dramatic!!! Haven't seen any live footage yet, but look forward to it. This site banner is the most exciting I've come across in terms of eruption footage, and although it's used on an Auckland site I don't think the imagery is of NZ volcanoes.
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The paucity of people at this public meeting is dismaying. It's the first public meeting about the new plan. Fewer than 25 attended??? What's up, people?
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Lilith __, in reply to
the first public meeting about the new plan
It's not an opportunity to be part of the decision-making, it's just a Q and A.
Sue Sutherland turned up with several questions, including whether the central library building could be incorporated into the new blueprint.
She was told it would be a "limiting factor" to keep it there.
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
It’s not an opportunity to be part of the decision-making, it’s just a Q and A.
Um isn’t that precisely what people should be doing ? As Lockwood Smith keeps telling Parliament, “Ask the right questions”. It’s not like there will be door knocking to see if you like it.
Although reading the comments under Leighs link above. It feels like a lot of people are completely over being ignored and know it is pointless.
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
It’s not an opportunity to be part of the decision-making, it’s just a Q and A.
How frustrating! In my wishful dreaming I imagine several thousand people turning up each standing up one after the other and saying things like “My question is ‘where are my democratic rights to be involved in this decison-making process’, And I Wish That To Be Recorded In The Minutes!” At present I live too far away to be directly involved in all this – but hope to encourage others from the sidelines.
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Gotta agree with Leigh there.
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Lilith __, in reply to
As Lockwood Smith keeps telling Parliament, “Ask the right questions”. It’s not like there will be door knocking to see if you like it.
They're not asking for feedback or submissions at all. CERA is not accountable to us.
Tens of thousands of people made submissions for Share an Idea, and the CCC made a draft plan incorporating many of those ideas, which has now been 86'd by the government. They've made their own plan, with no reference to us.
Such an irony that Share An Idea won an international award.
Chairman of the jury Jaco van Zijll Langhout said: “Share An Idea is an inspiring example of co-creation, which established co-creation with their community in several ways and at several moments in time: an online platform to post ideas, a Community Expo, workshops and roadshows, to develop the city centre together.
“The response on this initiative was overwhelming: more than 106,000 ideas have been shared and more than 10,000 people visited the Expo. Next to developing the new city centre, the result of this co-creation is also a stronger community.”
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Emma Hart, in reply to
What's up, people?
Exhaustion? It's been nearly two years, Leigh. Quite a lot of us are knackered.
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Out-of-towners who want to support our struggles might consider writing or emailing their MP.
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