Suburban Centres Master Plans : Christchurch City Council

The earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 caused varying degrees of damage and disruption to a number of commercial centres across the city. Following consultation with the Community Boards, the Council approved the Suburban Centres Programme in June 2011.

The Suburban Centres Programme provides coordinated planning and assistance to help with the rebuild and recovery in the most affected centres. The programme has included the preparation of master plans and further support via case management.

Process

Master planning can be a time-consuming process and may only be suitable for some centres, depending on the extent of damage, their size, catchment, layout and particular opportunities that may exist to improve a centre’s layout, function or performance.

The master plan development process involves collaboration between the Council, Community Board and local stakeholders, including landowners, business operators, community groups, such as social and environmental groups, local residents, central and regional government agencies and Iwi.

Master plans look at the suburban commercial centre as a whole and its links to nearby activities or attractions.

They are developed within a framework of five themes via an inquiry-by-design approach to ensure a comprehensive and integrated view of the centre’s potential, as expressed by the resulting vision, goals and actions for the centre. In some cases, actions include case management by Council staff to assist business owners to rebuild and recover.

Implementation

Each master plan contains an implementation plan setting out the expected leaders, and timeframes for, each action. While the Council leads some actions, others are led by private landowners and community groups.

Master plans often guide other Council advice and decision-making, with respect to strategic land acquisition and the provision of grant funding, for example.

Implementation of all master plan actions is reported to the Council biannually. The biannual report [PDF, 4.4 MB] also refers to Bishopdale Mall revitalisation and the community-led revitalisation efforts in Linwood Village, along with other suburban locations the subject of urban regeneration initiatives. These include suburban projects that come under the Enliven Places Programme.