Red-zone questions remain
Shortlist ready for feedback
The shape of the Christchurch river red zone is finally becoming clearer after months of delays, but significant questions remain around land ownership and funding.
A shortlist of possible uses for the 602-hectare stretch of land was released yesterday by Regenerate Christchurch, the Christchurch City Council and Crown-owned planning agency in charge of the space. A public exhibition where people can give feedback opens in Cashel Mall at 10am today.
More than half of the area will be given to a ‘‘green spine’’, with three additional areas designated for activities and play, food and culture, and exploring nature. Some grand ideas for the space include a gondola, floating houses and a whitewater park.
But the issue of funding remains. The vision relies on private investment to become reality, and discussions over who will own and manage the land are in the very early stages.
Regenerate chief executive Ivan Iafeta said public and private sector funding would be needed.
‘‘As well as asking people for feedback on the work that we’ve done . . . we’re also inviting those who want to see investment opportunities here to come forward as well.’’
Iafeta said one of the keys was identifying the future land ownership arrangements, which was something the city council and Crown would need to decide. Most of the land is owned by the Crown and managed by Land Information New Zealand, though a substantial amount is with the council. A small portion is owned privately.
Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods said work had not really started on determining future ownership. It would be done as part of the ‘‘global settlement’’ negotiations between the Crown and the council, covering Christchurch-wide post-quake ownership and responsibilities.
Woods said ownership was not stopping anyone pitching projects or the vision moving forward.
Work on the global settlement would be able to start now this year’s Budget was finished, she said, and she hoped it would be resolved ‘‘as quickly as possible’’, but didn’t want to put a time frame on it.
When asked about Government funding above Christchurch’s $300 million capital fund, Woods said she had spoken with Mayor Lianne Dalziel about ways central government could invest in the red zone through non-quake-specific funding such as cycleways. Avon-O¯ ta¯ karo Network spokesman Evan Smith said he thought the exhibition was a really positive step, but it still talked in terms of land use categories rather than defining the proposals that would be in there.
The network and other interest groups are considering an alternative exhibition of ‘‘proposal champions’’ to go into detail about specific projects the groups are working on.
He said the group believed ownership of the land should lie in public trust and be consolidated as a single entity in perpetuity, and not broken up or sold off. ‘‘I think that safeguards the corridor from being broken up piecemeal in the future.’’ Woods said she would be interested looking at the details of the public trust idea. When asked if consideration would be given to selling parts of the red zone to private investors, she said those were ‘‘exactly the kinds of decisions that have to be made’’.
Ian Fox, spokesman for whitewater group Wai Huka o Waitaha, said he was also in favour of an overall governance structure like some kind of separately owned park, with all projects on a leasehold basis, though noted it was ‘‘very easy to say but probably not that easy to do’’.
Greening the Red Zone chairwoman Celia Hogan said land ownership decisions had to be made carefully because if parts of the land went into private ownership, it could take away from the public consultation process and all the work Regenerate had done.