Bold new town plan for quakehit Kaiapoi
CHRISTCHURCH: Kaiapoi, just north of Christchurch, has unveiled a bold new plan for the parts of the town wiped off the map in the Canterbury earthquakes.
The plan centres on the Kaiapoi River, which runs through the middle of the town, and includes having house boats moored there, a place for campervans to park and a covered sports facility.
After the 2010 and 2011 quakes a quarter of Kaiapoi’s homes had to be demolished, their occupants in many cases leaving for good.
Now, the Waimakariri District Council has come up with a plan that takes a twopronged approach — reinvigorating areas left vacant by the quakes while also revitalising the rest of the town.
Council manager Simon Hart said crucially it would reorient shops, bars and restaurants towards the river by redesigning stop banks, which at present act as a barrier.
‘‘One of the themes was for people to be able to experience the [Kaiapoi River], that runs right through the heart of the town, and to be able to engage with that river and create activity. Through that conversation, the canal boatshouseboats theme came out about having something on the river that people could interact with.’’
Mr Hart said the plan had a big focus on encouraging people to be more active.
‘‘We see that as something like an [indoor sports centre], which might be for social football [or] social cricket.’’
Enterprise North Canterbury manager Miles Dalton said Kaiapoi was a town on the rise. ‘‘People can see what’s coming up.
‘‘People are seeing that there’s potential in Kaiapoi, and they’re seeing on the back of a disaster — that wiped out so much of Kaiapoi — it’s brought opportunity. That’s where we’re at now — we’re at the opportunity stage.’’
The plan envisages turning empty buildings into affordable shared office space for small businesses.
Mr Dalton said the idea was to turn Kaiapoi from being a commuter town to one that supports its own workforce.