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Latest update: 17/04/2023 Rau Paenga established to support Crown infrastructure delivery April 2023 From next week Ōtākaro Limited will be known as Rau Paenga Limited, in a further step to repurpose the Crown company into a national infrastructure delivery agency. Acting Chief Executive, John O’Hagan, says Rau Paenga will use the lessons learnt in delivering…
Phase One of the reinstatement of Christ Church Cathedral has been completed. Today, Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited is celebrating the completion of the first phase of the reinstatement project. The Cathedral is stabilised and the project is on track to be completed in 2027. “We’re inside!” exclaimed Keith Paterson, Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project…
A new three-month timelapse construction video of Te Kaha, Canterbury’s Multi-Use Arena, has been published, bringing into sharp focus the extent of the work being carried out and the magnitude of the $683 million project. Captured from the BESIX Watpac offices on Tuam St, the one-minute timelapse documents the ground improvement works being carried out…
Construction of The Court Theatre’s new home in central Christchurch has begun. Contractors have poured the first concrete on the Colombo St and Gloucester Street site which will see The Court Theatre return to the city in the heart of the Performing Arts Precinct. “It’s going to be exciting for construction to really ramp up…
Construction of The Court Theatre’s new home in central Christchurch has begun. Contractors have poured the first concrete on the Colombo St and Gloucester Street site which will see The Court Theatre return to the city in the heart of the Performing Arts Precinct. “It’s going to be exciting for construction to really ramp up…
Christchurch Free Wi-Fi has reached a major milestone with over 100,000 connections from locals and visitors. Community-owned fibre broadband provider Enable and the Christchurch City Council launched the service last July as part of the city’s economic development and tourism strategies – providing a high-quality free Wi-Fi service that is key for any smart 21st…
Work on Te Kaha, Canterbury’s Multi-Use Arena, will hit a new milestone later this month when the first of the foundations’ major concrete pours is completed. Te Kaha Project Delivery Chief Executive David Kennedy says the lead contractor, BESIX Watpac, will oversee about 40 large concrete pours between 27 January and mid-August, as work begins…
Latest update: 10/01/2023 Ōtākaro Chief Executive retiring January 2023 Ōtākaro Limited Chief Executive, John Bridgman, has announced he will be retiring as Chief Executive of Ōtākaro at the end of March. He will continue as a Director of both Waka Kotahi and Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities. Mr Bridgman has been at the helm…
The reinstatement of Christchurch’s historic Citizens’ War Memorial reached a significant milestone on Saturday when the cross was re-established atop the central structure. The restoration of the memorial on its new site in Cathedral Square – near where the Police Kiosk used to be is – is well progressed, and work to reattach the bronze…
Christchurch City Council is looking at how it can improve the safety and biodiversity of the Addington Brook waterway that runs through South Hagley Park. The waterway stretches from Deans Avenue through to Riccarton Road but it is in a poor condition. Most of the timber that once lined the steep banks of the brook…
Public consultation on proposals to upgrade the streets surrounding Te Kaha, Canterbury’s multi-use arena, will finish in three weeks’ time, on 30 November at 11:59pm. On 27 October the proposals were paused and the consultation period left open so the newly-elected Council could consider the proposed changes and suggest any potential modifications. Council Chief Executive…
With funding now secured for The Court Theatre’s new central city home, Christchurch City Council has appointed Hawkins to deliver the project in 2024. “We’re very pleased to be able to work alongside Hawkins as the main contractor to build this wonderful new facility, which will be at the heart of the Performing Arts Precinct,”…
A colourfully painted 20-foot shipping container in Cashel Mall is helping give Christchurch innovators and budding entrepreneurs a chance to test their ideas and products with the public. The shipping container is Life in Vacant Spaces’ Incubator and has been set up to provide groups and individuals with an affordable central city space where they…
Investment activity in Christchurch’s city centre is continuing at pace with consenting data showing a healthy amount of new development work in the pipeline. “The number of building and resource consent applications that are coming through to the Council is a positive sign that people have confidence to invest in our Central City and believe…
Investment activity in Christchurch’s city centre is continuing at pace with consenting data showing a healthy amount of new development work in the pipeline. “The number of building and resource consent applications that are coming through to the Council is a positive sign that people have confidence to invest in our Central City and believe…
As darkness falls in Cashel Mall this week passers-by may notice a new lighting installation projecting larger-than-life figures onto a prominent wall next to Rollickin’ Gelato. The Light Shadows projections will be on display 15 August – 20 September from 6pm to midnight, bringing playful moments to the city after dark. Illuminated human figures, filmed and edited…
A small hand-written note listing the names of the original stonemasons who worked on the Citizens’ War Memorial has been found encased in the concrete core of the historic monument. This note was found inside a glass bottle encased within the Citizens’ War Memorial. The 85-year-old note was tightly rolled-up inside a glass bottle that…
The next phase of a project to make Whiti-reia Cathedral Square a safer and more enjoyable place for residents and visitors alike is under way. Contractors have begun working in the area of the Square by the historic Post Office building. They are going to be re-levelling the ground, re-laying the paving, installing additional lighting…
The next phase of a project to make Whiti-reia Cathedral Square a safer and more enjoyable place for residents and visitors alike is under way. Contractors have begun working in the area of the Square by the historic Post Office building. They are going to be re-levelling the ground, re-laying the paving, installing additional lighting…
There is strong public support for increasing the budget for the multi-use arena, Te Kaha, initial analysis of the public submissions shows. “We received about 30,500 submissions and the initial analysis that we have done shows 77 per cent support Christchurch City Council putting more money into the project,’’ says Council Research Analyst Aimee Martin….
Residents and visitors to Ōtautahi-Christchurch can now access free wi-fi in the central city thanks to a partnership between Christchurch City Council and fibre broadband provider Enable. “With the borders opening to all travellers next month it’s the perfect time to be launching this new free Wi-Fi service. We hope to see the central city…
Christchurch City Council is introducing an incentive for property owners in the central city to keep their vacant sites tidy. The Council has approved a new rating scheme that will affect the owners of vacant properties in the Central City Business Zone and the Central City (South Frame) Mixed Use Zone. In those two zones,…
In a world first, a remote-operated digger is working inside Christ Church Cathedral to clear out debris, masonry and guano, a significant biohazard, and retrieve heritage fabric. The project marks the start of the major interior clean up and is another milestone in the Cathedral’s reinstatement journey. Controlled from an operations centre outside the Cathedral…
Learning about the cultural heritage of Ōtautahi-Christchurch is about to get easier for residents and visitors alike. Over the coming weeks tohu whenua (or cultural markers) will be installed at four locations around the central city. One will be located at the Margaret Mahy Playground, one near the Bridge of Remembrance, one in Victoria Square,…
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…
The soil has been turned and the site blessed ahead of early works starting on Te Kaha, Canterbury’s new multi-use arena. “This is an important milestone and the start of a really exciting new chapter, both for Ōtautahi-Christchurch and for the Canterbury region,” says Christchurch Mayor, Lianne Dalziel. “Te Kaha will be such an enabler…
Work to stabilise Christ Church Cathedral has reached a major milestone as workers begin removing the crossing roof. Removing the crossing roof enables the vertical deconstruction of the Cathedral’s stone gable arches in the crossing, an important element of the building’s structural stabilisation. It is a pivotal milestone in the rebuild project that will decouple…
Christchurch’s popular Dance-O-Mat will get its much-needed upgrade thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign. Gap Filler has managed to raise more than $25,000 on crowdfunding platform Boosted to cover the cost of upgrading and moving the Dance-O-Mat to a new site in Manchester Street. The Dance-O-Mat has to be relocated because the site it has…
Councillors have rejected a proposed land sale that would have furthered development of a public carpark building in Christchurch’s Performing Arts Precinct, after strong feedback from the community. Instead, with a nearby parking development planned by the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch and strong public opposition to the sale, Councillors voted to retain the land so…
A proposed new rating scheme designed to give central city property owners a financial incentive to keep vacant sites tidy is now out for public consultation. A proposed new rating scheme designed to make rating in the central city fairer, and give central city property owners a financial incentive to keep vacant sites tidy, is…