CBD video shows ‘little progress’

A new aerial video of central Christchurch shows parts of the city rebuild taking shape, alongside plenty of bare land awaiting development.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority released the video yesterday to show ‘‘the progress at various anchor project sites’’.

Rebuild Christchurch founder Deon Swiggs said the footage was ‘‘a real eye opener as to how bare the central city still is’’ and ‘‘how little has in fact changed’’ during the past 12 months.

‘‘We cannot deny that there is some private individual progress being made on medium-scale projects, but as a whole I think Cera have their heads in cloud cuckoo land if they think it’s great progress.

‘‘If you cast your eye aside from the big projects areas, such as the justice and emergency precinct, the retail precinct and the small area in the innovation precinct, there are large swaths of very empty sections which have been like this for some time and there is still no plan to give confidence as to how these areas will regenerate.’’

The video also highlighted a looming shortage of off-street parking as many empty sites to be developed soon were now being used for that purpose, he said.

Cera acting chief John Ombler said it was ‘‘great to see from this video just how many buildings are out of the ground and progressing’’. There was significant development in the Avon River precinct, the innovation precinct and the retail precinct, he said.

‘‘There are still gaps to fill in the city but there is a real sense of momentum that the recovery is progressing. Every day new buildings are opening and new houses are being completed and this aerial footage definitely shows the extent of that progress.’’