News & Updates…
Coordinated approach to Greater New Brighton project
The Village Green project concept approved by the greater New Brighton community takes another leap forward.
This project has always been a multi-faceted one, requiring coordination between the community, the Community Leadership Group, the new landowner for most of the properties at the eastern end of the New Brighton Mall and the Christchurch City Council. That coordination has now taken a major and positive step forward with the formation of the Better for Brighton (Mall Upgrade) Group.
Group members include the Community Leadership Group who are working alongside the community to create the Village Green Project; Martini Investments who recently purchased and consolidated key properties and are taking a lead role in the development of retail, hospitality and tourism ventures; the Council who are beginning work on the upgrade at the eastern end of the Mall; ChristchurchNZ who are leading the New Brighton Regeneration Project; and Celeste Donovan who is the local councillor for the area.
The Better for Brighton group meets monthly to ensure opportunities are aligned and any challenges are addressed quickly. The group will provide ongoing progress updates to key stakeholders through local channels.
The Community Leadership Group are very pleased to be part of this new group to ensure a coordinated approach from all parties.
In the meantime the Community Leadership Group are finalising the plans for the Village Green project. This builds on the extremely positive earlier feedback from the community, with some alterations to the earlier proposal based on that feedback. Detailed drawings and various approvals and consents are currently being worked on, before these go to a Quantity Surveyor to ensure that all aspects are costed and seen to live within the budget.
The Leadership Group is also working with a not for profit organisation who will take over the on-going management and promotion of the Village Green once the build is completed. More details on this later.
Update!
Progress is being made by the Community Leadership Group (CLG) on the Greater New Brighton Project.
Work has continued in the background over the last ten months. Members of the CLG have been meeting every one to two weeks, discussing options with the Landowner and working with the designers on the concept design, making changes based on community feedback.
We have also made a presentation to the Community Board and had discussions with local Councillors, briefing them on developments and seeking their support for the project. We are very pleased with the strong support we have received from the Community Board, Councillors and some key Council staff.
CLG is currently working with an organisation that will take over the longer-term management of the project once the stage, huts, grass and the like have been constructed. The final design will hopefully be released in early 2024.
Working with the Landowner, the future management organisation, the Council and other community groups, the CLG is committed to ensuring that the final project design provides the best possible outcome for social and economic development of the greater New Brighton area.
The CLG will be taking a well-deserved break over the Christmas period and will reconvene early in the new year.
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST VILLAGE GREEN MANAGEMENT
This could be an exciting opportunity for your Charity, Trust or Incorporated Society!
You’ve seen the Greater New Brighton “Village Green” project proposal – would you like your organisation to manage the on-going project space once the ground work and buildings have been finished? All profits will go to your group.
In general, the work would include activities and events to enhance community participation in the project space and, in doing so, support the greater New Brighton community. The chosen group will work closely with stakeholders to provide a venue for events such as the markets, concerts, City to Surf, community events etc. This will include the administration of market activities on the space, generation of new activities and revenue to enhance community participation and to generate revenue to maintain/upgrade the facilities. Oversight of the use and revenue generated by the building proposed in the centre of the Mall will be included within this project oversight.
Underlying lease costs for up to 10 years will be covered from initial project funds.
The full detail of the range of work and responsibilities associated with this will be discussed and agreed with the chosen organisation. The chosen organisation will have input into the final design of the project.
At this stage we just want to know if your group might be interested. It is not a commitment to do the work.
Note that your organisation should be a registered charity, Trust or Incorporated Society or is planning to have this status so as to run the project.
If you are interested in knowing more, please confirm your interest to Ruth Kenny, at greaternewbrighton@gmail.com and we will send you a form to fill out.
Please let Ruth know of your interest no later than 5pm, Wednesday, 17 May 2023.
Community Meetings - February & March 2023 New Brighton Mall Concept
You are invited to come along to one of the community meetings where the exciting proposal for the New Brighton Mall will be presented. Meet the designers and give feedback on the proposal.
Community Meetings
Monday 20th Feb 2023 - 7.00pm
Grace Vineyard, Seaview Road
Wednesday 22nd Feb 2023 - 7.00pm
South New Brighton Surf Club, Marine Parade
Saturday 25th Feb 2023 - 10.00am - 2.00pm
New Brighton Seaside Markets
Saturday 4th March 2023 - 10.00am - 2.00pm
New Brighton Seaside Markets
Saturday 11th March 2023 - 10.00am - 2.00pm
New Brighton Seaside Markets
NEW NEW BRIGHTON MALL CONCEPT DESIGN TO BE RELEASED
It’s all happening! After a year of reviewing a multitude of documents, community proposals, ideas and feedback from the greater New Brighton community, the Community Leadership Group (CLG) is about to release a concept design for community reaction.
In last year’s community survey, more than 60% of respondents asked for priority to be given to improving the New Brighton Mall area. The CLG has concentrated on bringing together the multitude of ideas that will make this a reality.
DCM Urban, a Christchurch design firm, was appointed last year to undertake the design work based on that feedback and lead the engagement with the community.
Two community meetings will be held in February 2023 to show the new concept design and answer any questions you may have on the designs. There will also be some limited ability to tweak the final design, based on community feedback. Feedback can also be provided at the CLG stall at the New Brighton Seaside Saturday market after the community meetings.
Community Leadership Group Chairperson, Robbie Baigent, said “This seems to have taken a long time to get to this point, but that merely reflects the wide range of ideas and proposals we have received – and the 100s of hours of meetings that the CLG have engaged in to get to this point. We look forward to hearing your views on the new design.”
Watch out for posters and letterbox flyers coming in the near future. We look forward to hearing from you at the community meetings.
25% INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR GREATER NEW BRIGHTON PROJECT
The Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust has generously added another two grants totalling $500,000 to the Greater New Brighton project, bringing the total to $2.5 million (including GST).
Community Leadership Group (CLG) chairperson, Robbie Baigent, said “This 25% increase in funding is an extremely generous and very welcome boost for the project. We have had a massive in-flow of ideas from the community, so this new support will help considerably in delivering something wonderful for the Greater New Brighton area”.
A $200,000 grant will support the on-going engagement work of the CLG. While members of the CLG work in a totally voluntary capacity, secretarial support and engagement with the wider community does incur costs along with the likes of Quantity Surveying and eventual Project Management. This grant will ensure that none of the original project funding is used for administrative purposes.
The other $300,000 grant is added to the original $2 million to provide additional project funding.
60% of feedback from the last major community engagement exercise identified the need for improvements to the New Brighton Mall. The CLG has concentrated on bringing together a range of community ideas that will make this a reality. The additional project funding will allow more community ideas to find a place in the eventual project.
Baigent said “we look forward to sharing plans for a reimagined New Brighton Mall area early next year.”
It’s been a minute…..
Doesn't time fly while you're having fun! It's been a while since our last update. Rest assured we've been busy in the background getting organised for the next phase of the Greater New Brighton CLD project.
All the amazing project ideas that were submitted by the community have been considered and discussed at length. The CLG team has combined a number of those submissions into one incredible project concept. If you haven't seen them, have a look at our Facebook page or website.
It is important to us that we engage fully with our community and reach as many people as possible in this next phase. Therefore, we have invited a number of companies to submit their proposals for designing the project concept and strategy for engaging with the community. We are working through that process currently and expect to be contracting with a preferred supplier within the next couple of weeks.
We are excited to be able to share the project concept with you within the coming months. It is so important for us to get this right, so we appreciate your patience while we strive for the best project possible for us, the Greater New Brighton community.
All the best,
Greater New Brighton Community Leadership Group
Your Project Ideas
Check out some of the amazing project ideas that have been submitted by you, the Greater New Brighton community!
Click here for list of project ideas
We’ve been blown away by the amount of time and thought the community has put into creating and submitting their ideas.
The CLG is currently working through all project proposals and ideas. CLG will consolidate all the ideas, that are in scope of the project, to arrive at a number of potential projects that will be presented for feedback at the next round of community meetings. That’s when you’ll get to vote on your favourite one!
Please note that not all ideas may be possible due to being out of scope of the project.
Update: Phase 1 - Outcome
While you’ve been away, the CLG has been working hard behind the scenes to collate and analyse the information you submitted through the Survey, Community Meetings and Social Media posts. Wow, you guys have some fantastic ideas! Thank you so much to everyone who contributed.
The data from the Survey and a presentation which summarises the information gathered from the Survey, Community Meetings and Facebook is now available, should you wish to have a read.
Over the coming weeks, the CLG will be summarising the data to be presented back to you, the community.
A special shout out to the CLG. This is a voluntary board and the members have been incredibly generous with their time while the rest of us have been on holiday.
Survey Responses Report
Presentation of Phase 1 Outcome
Summary of Public Meetings Nov 2021
In November 2021 we held three public meetings to introduce ourselves, explain the process of this programme and gauge an indication of what the community thought where important within each theme. For those who would like to refer back to these meetings, or who were unable to attend, the presentation, and a recording of one of the meetings is available to view below:
Public Meetings November 2021
You are invited to a presentation of a review of more than 20 consultations post-2011 on the needs of the Greater New Brighton community.
Community suggestions fall into 4 themes
• Improve / beautify the mall
• Provide / improve community facilities
• Improve / create connection routes within, to and across the Greater New Brighton area
• Create space for gatherings / events
At these meetings we will be seeking feedback on which of these themes and associated ideas should have priority.
Public Meetings:
Tues 16th Nov - 5.30 - 7.30pm
New Brighton Union Methodist Church
24 Union St
Thu 18th Nov - 6.30 - 8.30pm
North New Brighton Community Centre
88 Marine Parade
Mon 22nd Nov - 6.30 - 8.30pm
South New Brighton Surf Life Saving Club
Marine Parade