It is full steam ahead for the expansion of Halswell’s popular miniature railway. The Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board has agreed that the Canterbury Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (CSMEE) can increase the size of the area they lease at Halswell Domain for their miniature railway. The railway operates every Sunday afternoon, weather permitting, and…
Author: CCC
Sign of the Bellbird lookout work to begin
Work starts next week on constructing a new lookout and upgrading the sealed carpark opposite the historic 1914 rest house Sign of the Bellbird. It’s one of four rest houses built along the Summit Road by conservationist Henry (Harry) George Ell. The project is an initiative of the Summit Road Society, a grassroots charitable organisation…
Council to begin considering Annual Plan submissions
Councillors will consider more than 500 submissions from the community as hearings begin on Christchurch City Council’s Draft Annual Plan 2022/23. The Draft Annual Plan, which outlines the Council’s spending on projects and day-to-day services over the next financial year and how they’ll be financed, was released for public comment in March. Five hundred and…
Thousands flock to see city’s architectural gems
Christchurch was buzzing over the weekend as residents and visitors turned out in force for the second annual Te Pūtahi Open Christchurch festival of architecture. A range of building styles, ages and uses were on offer with mid-century Christchurch Modern buildings proving popular, as was the Bull O’Sullivan designed educational building, Te Hohepa Kōhanga Reo….
Autumn bounty at the Fungi Farm
Mushrooms are a-growing at the Fungi Farm in the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Area. The project is an initiative of the Riverlution Collective and driven by the Richmond Community Garden, but spokesperson Hayley Guglietta says it will take a couple of years for the fungi populations to get well established. “They’ve got to have…
Reassuring news from gas testing at wastewater plant
Independent testing to better understand the odours from around the fire-damaged Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant shows the stench is largely due to sulphurous gases. However, the concentration of the gases measured last week were at levels well below the Worksafe exposure standards. Christchurch City Council Head of Three Waters Helen Beaumont says a specialist air…
Tīrama Mai returns to light up winter
Tīrama Mai will brighten up Ōtautahi-Christchurch this winter with a range of innovative lighting installations and artworks on display throughout the central city. The lighting festival is free to attend and will be held from Friday 24 June to Sunday 3 July. Christchurch City Council Events and Arts Manager Lucy Blackmore says this year’s event…
New real time information system makes going by bus better
Public transport users in Christchurch are benefitting from a new real-time information (RTI) system that enables them to find out exactly when the next bus is going to arrive. Over the past 12 months Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council have been working with technology provider NEC NZ Limited to upgrade the real-time information system…
Sporting codes agree to align seasons
Christchurch youngsters will find it easier to play both winter and summer sports thanks to a new agreement between the sporting codes that creates a gap at the end of each season. The gap will also give Christchurch City Council more time between the sporting seasons to prepare the playing fields. “With winter and summer…
Report recommends not constructing Heathcote stopbanks
A planned project to construct low stopbanks along part of the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River may not go ahead. Following severe flooding along the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River in July 2017, Christchurch City Council resolved to investigate the technical feasibility of installing low stopbanks along the river between Colombo Street and Radley Street to reduce the flood…
Honey, I’m home: Bug hotel for native bees in Christchurch’s former Red Zone
A bug hotel shaped like a whare has been installed in the Ōtakaro Avon River Corridor to help boost the population of native bees. Christchurch City Council Urban Rangers made and installed the hotel in the Horseshoe Lake regeneration area of the Ōtakaro Avon River Corridor (OARC) in a bid to establish more colonies of…
Cash price of airport bus fares falls
Environment Canterbury is reducing the cost of cash fares for buses to and from Christchurch Airport to co-incide with the opening of international borders. This means that customers who board a Metro bus at the Christchurch International Airport will pay the same cash fare as for any Metro bus trip within Christchurch. Previously, cash fares…
More work still needed on three waters reforms says Mayor
Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel says the Government’s announcement that it is making changes to its three waters reforms fails to address one of the key funding concerns raised by local authorities. “The Working Group’s recommendation that the Crown needs to confirm the size of investment required to address issues of historic degradation of waterways and…
Alternate sites for organics processing plant need more investigation
Christchurch City Council has agreed in principle that it will relocate the organics processing plant in Bromley to an alternative location. It has today instructed Council staff to advance options for a new , as yet unidentified, site for the organics processing, which is where the material collected in the green wheelie bins gets turned…
No quick fix to wastewater treatment plant stench
Thorough investigations have revealed there is no quick fix to the stench coming from the fire-damaged Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant. “If there was a quick fix we would have used it by now because we all want the stench gone – it’s horrible and it is very distressing for those residents who live close to…
Christchurch nature fans urged to join global bio-blitz
Nature fans in Christchurch are being encouraged to join in the 2022 global bio-blitz City Nature Challenge that begins tomorrow. From Friday 29 April to 2 May 2022, keen nature watchers in Christchurch and six other New Zealand cities and regions will join tens of thousands of people across the globe to look for nature…
Sir Ed Hillary’s flag to be retrieved from Cathedral
The New Zealand flag that flew after Sir Edmund Hillary and his party reached the South Pole will be retrieved from Christ Church Cathedral this week. The flag is the last of more than 30 flags and colours held by the Cathedral to be retrieved. The other flags were removed after the 2011 earthquake but…
Gold award for New Brighton hot pools complex
He Puna Taimoana is officially one of the best sustainable tourism businesses in New Zealand. The Christchurch City Council-owned and operated beachfront hot pools in New Brighton have earned a Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Business Award. The gold award recognise the best sustainable tourism businesses in New Zealand. It is only given to those businesses…
Report recommends moving organics processing plant
A report recommending that Christchurch City Council look for a new site for the city’s organics processing plant will be considered by the Mayor and Councillors on Thursday. A report recommending that Christchurch City Council look for a new site for the city’s organics processing plant will be considered by the Mayor and Councillors on…
Riverside phones way to talk your worries away
Inspired by the story of a grieving man following the 2011 Japan tsunami, the organisation behind the River of Flowers project has installed 12 telephones along the river to talk your worries away. “It’s an art installation for our wellbeing,” says Flourish Kia Puāwai Co-Director Michelle Whitaker. “A fun way to do something meaningful as…
Christchurch to host world premiere of Behrouz doco
Feature documentary ‘Behrouz’ will have its world premiere in Christchurch in June. The screening at the Isaac Theatre Royal will be held in partnership with Christchurch City Council, Screen CanterburyNZ and WORD Christchurch. The documentary Behrouz tells the story of award-winning Kurdish journalist and writer Behrouz Boochani. He fled the Iranian regime, seeking asylum in…
Work to start soon on Lincoln Road bus lanes
Work will begin in early May on stage one of works to install peak hour bus priority lanes on Lincoln Road, between Moorhouse Avenue and Whiteleigh Avenue. Christchurch City Council Head of Transport Lynette Ellis says the bus lanes will improve the reliability of public transport in the southwest of Christchurch. “This area is growing…
Hidden gems on show at architecture festival
Some of the highlights at this year’s Te Pūtahi Open Christchurch festival of architecture are hidden in plain sight. Organised by Te Pūtahi – Centre for Architecture and City-Making, Open Christchurch returns for a weekend-long celebration of the city’s special spaces on 30 April and 1 May – and among them are some hidden gems you…
Cashmere Stream enhancement work starting
A multi-stage project to improve the ecological health of Cashmere Stream and to create new habitats for native plants and animals is getting under way. Christchurch City Council has employed contractors to start work on enhancing Cashmere Stream downstream of Sutherlands Road. Over the next three months the contractors will re-shape the stream’s banks, place…
Getting to the bottom of the wastewater treatment plant stench
The stench from the fire-damaged Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant is seriously impacting on the wellbeing of nearby residents. Here we answer some more of your questions about why the plant is still in this state and what we’re doing about it. It is nearly six months since the fire at the treatment plant. Why does…
Brief closure for Aranui Library revamp
Aranui Library will temporarily close for a week so maintenance work can be done and the library layout revamped to make it easier for customers to use. The closure will take place from Tuesday 26 April until Monday 2 May. Head of Libraries and Information Carolyn Robertson says the work at Aranui Library is part…
Royal spoonbill colony cause for celebration
A breeding colony of the distinctive large wading birds known as royal spoonbills/Kōtuku Ngutupapa has established itself at Oruapaeroa/Travis Wetland just 100m from a busy road. It’s the first time the birds have bred at the site which is located near the corner of Travis and Frosts Road. Christchurch City Council Ranger John Skilton says…
New exhibition celebrates Māori magazine
A magazine which was described as “a marae on paper” is being celebrated with an evolving exhibition at Tūranga. The exhibition Te Ao Hou: A moment in Time showcases the tenacity and elegance of the Māori spirit represented in the magazine Te Ao Hou and runs Saturday 16 April through to Sunday 7 August at…
Christchurch Airport becomes carbon positive
Christchurch Airport has soared to new heights in sustainability, moving beyond carbon neutral to become carbon positive. Chief Executive Malcolm Johns says Christchurch Airport is considered a global leader in the transition of airports and aviation to a lower carbon future. “Achieving this next level in our journey is critically important because airports and aviation…
Rare chance for Christ Church Cathedral tour
Curious about what’s happening behind the fences surrounding Christ Church Cathedral? Then book a spot for a special behind-the-scenes tour on either 30 April or 1 May with members of the Cathedral’s reinstatement team. The tours are being run as part of Open Christchurch, the annual celebration of architectural excellence. Although the tours of Christ…