Helping others to Help yourself: an Invitation to attend a Community Network Forum

Kia ora koutou,

Renew Brighton would like to invite you to attend a Community Network Forum at 430pm on Tuesday 24th April at St Faith's Lounge. Please come along, share a cup of tea and take part in planning a community-led Needs Analysis for Greater Brighton.

You'll also have the opportunity to meet and network with others within the community who are playing a part in planning for its recovery.

The agenda for the meeting will be:
Welcome
Update on progress (Planning, methodology etc)
Discussion: What do we want to learn? What do we need to learn?




Renewsletter:
This week there's so much information to share regarding our recovery, revitalisation and renewal that I'm obliged to use as many links as possible, sending you to other informative websites. Tragically, if you're printing this, the information will no longer be there. The internet is our friend, though, so forward this email to others, or simply encourage folks to subscribe themselves. I'll be breaking the information into three categories: Recovery, Revitalisation and Renewal.


Recovery:

Your home:
News has been grim regarding the shortage of rental accommodation in Christchurch. Two organisation's names have crossed my path in the past weeks,
Hotel Homes and Contract Accomodation, both providing opportunities to rent single rooms. Perhaps you could consider hosting a builder who's in town helping out on the rebuild- it may take the pressure off the system!

There's also the new temporary village that will be built in Rawhiti Domain. Temporary villages are a Government supported temporary accommodation option. This option is to assist householders (both homeowners and people in rented accommodation) whose homes are uninhabitable and need suitable rental accommodation while their house or land is repaired or rebuilt. To register please fill in an assessment form online.

Also in the news this week is talk about the possibility of a Rates Rebate. The Christchurch Rates Relief Group is petitioning Christchurch City Council for 100% rates relief for Christchurch citizens who are, for various reasons, unable to occupy their own homes as a result of the earthquakes. Visit their website to find out more, or go directly to their online petition.

Community Energy Action
Located on Beresford St, they can help you with
Insulation and your EQC claim/repairs
Taking advantage of earthquake repairs to make your home warmer
Staying warm in a quake damaged house or temporary rental property
How to get more information
Insulation and your EQC claim/repairs
If you have roof damage
If your property was flooded or affected by liquefaction
If you have floor, piles or foundation damage
If external walls were damaged


Your Environment:
Travelling
If you're anything like me, chances are you don't often leave the village, but when you do you find you're really unfamiliar with the roads with all the repairs under way. I counted six detours on a simple journey to the city the other week. If I have any chance of getting anywhere on time it would surely come as a result of visiting this great website first. Due to the ongoing changes to our city’s roads, Transport for Christchurch will be providing regular transport related news stories to ensure road users are well informed. This will provide road users with some of the information they need to help navigate around Christchurch. The website’s key feature is an interactive map which is updated with real time travel speed information and road closures.

Keyes Road wastewater project, one side of road closed
This is a major project of wastewater mains replacement, likely to take six months to complete, starting on Monday, April 2 on Keyes Road, New Brighton. Fulton Hogan, as part of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) is re-laying the main gravity pipe and laterals (side pipes) to property boundaries.
The existing wastewater pipe suffered multiple breaks in the earthquakes. It will be replaced with a more resilient plastic PVC pipe, more than a kilometre long, along Keyes Road to Bowhill Road. The wastewater mains on Gresham Terrace as well as parts of Dennitt, Sinclair and Rawson Streets will also be replaced following the Keyes Road work. Residents are urged to keep children and pets a safe distance away from the work. Traffic will also be affected as the southbound lane of Keyes Road from Bowhill Road to Rawhiti Domain will be closed. Access to streets off Keyes Road will be from Baker Street and New Brighton Road.
Traffic management will be in place on Keyes Road and drivers are urged to stick to the 30kph speed limit for the safety of workers and other road users. The Metrostar bus will run down Baker Street instead of Keyes Road.
If you have any questions about this work, contact Fulton Hogan on 0800 277 3434 (Monday to Friday) or email rebuildinfo@fultonhogan.com. Fulton Hogan and SCIRT understand this is a significant disruption for many people and appreciate everyone's patience while this important piece of work is done.

Public seminar on the Earthquake effects on rivers and the estuary in Christchurch
Learn what research has been done, what are we finding out and what happens next. This seminar will feature presentations from a number of entities including: Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management (University of Canterbury and Lincoln University), Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council.
Thursday 26 April 2012 from 9.00am - 5.00pm. Lincoln Events Centre, Meijer Drive, Lincoln.
Free. Sponsored by ESR. RSVP to: wendy.donald@ecan.govt.nz by 18 April.

Your Wellbeing:
Next De-Stress Course 19 - 22 April -Two evenings and the weekend)

Registrations essential - Free call: 0508 Artofliving 0508 2786 354 canterbury@artoflioving.org.nz www.artofliving.org


Revitalisation

Draft Annual Plan 2012/13
The Council's Draft Annual Plan for 2012/13 and proposals for 10 Major Community Facilities will be released for public consultation for four weeks, from 20 April 2012 to 21 May 2012. You can read the media release about the Draft Annual Plan being adopted on 11 April 2012 here.
This is particularly important to us as they're discussing QE II and Centennial Pool – developing the first stage of a multi-sport hub in the Central City and building a community leisure facility and athletic track on the QE II site or another site in the east.
Residents will be able to find out more about what’s in the plan during April and May. A summary booklet will be sent to all homes on the opening weekend of consultation and it will also be available online. Open Days will also be held over the weekend of 28, 29 and 30 April so residents can come along, talk to senior Council staff and find out more about the plan. Community Drop-in Sessions will be held in May in all of the city’s eight Community Board wards.
Council says

“The best thing we can do now is listen. I urge our residents to look at this draft set of accounts and write to us with their thoughts. So, Christchurch, it’s now in your hands – we are laying the framework for the future of this city and we want to hear from you.”

Folks: I'm going to introduce you to the idea of Having your Say. In this instance, write to the council: info@ccc.govt.nz let them know how important QE2 is to us as a community, that we need it rebuilt right where it is. We live in a democracy and this is your opportunity to exercise your democratic right.

The Christchurch City Council has also approved the development of master plans to support the recovery and rebuild of New Brighton and Edgeware’s suburban shopping centres. The process will be a collaborative effort involving the Council, Community Boards, local residents and stakeholders for each centre. Stakeholders include business operators, building and land owners, central and regional government agencies, residents, community groups and any other organisations that have a stake in the local community for each centre. Rest assured that Renew Brighton is very interested in this process and, as per our goal, we will continue to be instrumental in leading the development of a community led recovery and revitalisation plan for Greater Brighton.


Renewal:

Design
If you're a fan of design, planning or development why not sign up to The City 2.0 The City 2.0 is a unique platform created by the TED Prize to allow citizens anywhere to participate in the creation of their City 2.0.

South Brighton trees:
The felling of the trees has stalled and has not progressed as quickly as first envisaged, for a number of reasons. The area south of the motor camp, adjacent to Jellicoe Marsh, was felled last year and is the only area ready for restoration planting. Council have some funding from Auckland Council to do this and are organising a community planting day for 10 June, 10am-1pm, followed by a sausage sizzle. Further information will be circulated about this soon. The proposed planting is consistent with the existing management plan which was developed in consultation with the community.
Future planting of the remainder of the reserves is unknown at this stage. Conditions throughout the reserves have changed with different land, water and saline levels to what was there pre-earthquake. The restoration planting south of the motor camp will provide a good opportunity to test which plants do well in the new conditions. Meantime, there are a number of other issues that we are working through regarding flood protection, drainage etc that will impact on the reserves.
The June planting day will be a very positive step towards restoration of the reserves in the short term. Recovery of the remainder of the reserves will be a long term project and subject to funding approval through Council's Long Term Plan.


I look forward to meeting you and chatting over a cuppa on Tuesday the 24th, 430pm @ St Faiths (Hawke St, New Brighton).



Nga mihi,
Rebecca May