I want Christchurch to be:
- a safe city
- a clean city
- an affordable city
- a prosperous city
- a sustainable city
- a city with a heart that works.
The founders of Christchurch had a simple vision: To build a place where families and businesses could flourish in harmony with our environment. Our forebears were reformers who had the courage to invest in a better future. I regard that vision as just as relevant today.
We face big challenges - rates, traffic congestion, threats to our water and even the loss of our Garden City image.
Climate change and carbon neutrality are becoming worldwide issues and it is important we focus on these at a local level and work together to be able to build a truly sustainable city.
No other city is as well placed to do this as we are. We've retained the family silver, we've got superb investments, and a much improved Council organisation.
We've got carbon credits by taking gas from an old landfill and heating the QEII pool. We've cut our energy use by 30 per cent over the last ten years, and that's just the beginning.
Now the challenge is to take this approach, not just as a Council, but as a city.
It's my aim to support a new Energy Policy creating incentives for energy efficient buildings, to embark on tree planting programmes, and to lay the plans for a truly sustainable rail-based public transport system.
The Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy (UDS), is actually a plan for the sustainable development of our city over the next 35 years. Now we need the courage to make it happen, and I believe that my experience of 14 years in local Government and strong leadership will ensure we get that done.
As the former chairman of the Urban Development Strategy I am fully committed to putting the recommendations of the UDS in place. The UDS is a blueprint for the growth of the city and is an important shift from following development with infrastructure provision, to leading development by infrastructure provision. Continual benchmarking of progress against actual and planned actions, and a view to re-evaluate where necessary, will help the UDS to move forward, revitalise the central city and help sort out traffic issues.
We must go back to basics and refocus on timely delivery of infrastructure to lead development, and protect our environment by protecting water resources, giving incentives for energy efficiency and developing carbon initiatives.
Over the next five years, the priorities for infrastructural investment in the city should be to move forward the build dates for the Northern Arterial road, and resolve traffic choke points with innovative and low cost engineering solutions, such as four-lining key roads. It is vital that we catch up on the infrastructure backlog in areas such as waste and storm water and that we press ahead with upgrading the central city, providing a new bus exchange and investing further in AMI Stadium.
To further ease traffic congestion, the Northern and Southern Arterials must be completed and plans made for the reuse of existing rail and the development of new light rail in conjunction with existing public transport.
The revitalisation of Christchurch's inner city can be achieved by creating development partnerships with local businesses and revisiting the City Plan to identify and prepare variations for new intensification zones.
To ensure a vibrant inner city, a special central city zone needs to be created - with direct links to the Council as a metropolitan responsibility, key development partners need to be identified and their relationship with the council incentives, and planning requirements, such as parking, need to be reviewed.
I believe Christchurch City Council can become the country's most business friendly organisation by committing to a close relationship with the business community, speeding up compliance through new consent and planning initiatives and extending the high speed broadband network.
I look forward to the challenge of following in the footsteps of our founders, and their vision, to make Christchurch a place where people and business flourish within a sustainable environment.
