City suburb ‘close to breaking point’
An east Christchurch suburb overlooked since the earthquakes is close to breaking point, community leaders say.
Papanui Innes Community Board chairwoman Ali Jones told a council submissions hearing yesterday Shirley was in dire need of new community facilities, but had been largely left out of the Christchurch City Council’s draft 10-year budget.
‘‘Our ward has been forgotten in many ways, particularly the Shirley area – an area that is in the east but not in the east we hear so much about. No big pool complex or hot pools here,’’ Jones said referring to facilities being built in neighbouring wards.
The council is spending money in the ward but almost entirely on infrastructure projects, including cycleways and land drainage work.
The Shirley Community Centre, once a busy focal point providing a home to many different groups, was demolished following the 2010/11 earthquakes and has yet to be rebuilt. No money has been allocated in the LTP to build a replacement facility.
Jones asked for $153,000 to be put back into the budget to begin consultation and design work on a new facility.
‘‘The community is close to breaking point. They need a place to meet, to gather, to mend.’’
Shirley resident Joanna Gould said the community had become displaced since the demolition of the community centre. ‘‘There is no one place to go to ask for help.’’
She has created a website to push for a new joint library, learning centre, service centre, playground and playcentre at the site.
There are eight schools in Shirley and 65 per cent of residents are families with children. About 21 per cent of the population is between 0 to 15, compared with the city average of 17.8 per cent.
Jones also wanted the council to grant $5 million to allow the Edgeware pool to be completed.
When asked by a councillor how the council would pay for more facilities in the area, Jones said maybe other wards could cut back on some of the facilities they were asking for.
Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said reinstating a community centre in Shirley would have to be weighed up against all the other challenges facing the city.
‘‘You do need to take a city view when you sit around this table. You can’t take a ward-byward view.
‘‘We have to work out ways of making sure we have enough money on budget to do what is absolutely core critical across the city.’’
Coastal-Burwood Community Board members also made a plea to the council for greater investment in the area to give it equity with the rest of the city.
Board chairwoman Kim Money told the council it had not got the balance right in its draft long-term plan (LTP) because permanent flood protection work was on hold and other regeneration plans had no budget.
The area had already benefited from a new seaside playground, two new high schools were being built, the new QEII complex was due to open this month and hot saltwater pools were planned.
The board wanted the council to complete a feasibility study in
2020 to look at the demand for a
50-metre pool at QEII.
The council received 1516 submissions to its draft LTP. It starts hearing public submissions today.
‘‘The community needs a place to meet, to gather, to mend.’’ Community board chairwoman Ali Jones