Draft plan - Stuff

Green City
Community gardens
Pocket parks
Community gardens will be
encouraged in the Central City to
provide opportunities for residents
and schools to enjoy fresh, locally
grown food and to promote
learning and social activity.
Community gardens are places where
people can come together to grow
food, share experiences and have
fun. Community gardens are run by
volunteers who organise working bee’s,
harvest festivals and host courses on
gardening, composting, healthy eating and
sustainable living.
Community gardens project
When: From 2013
Where: At least three Central
Christchurch locations
Who: Christchurch City Council,
Canterbury Community Gardens
Association, Central City schools,
residents associations and Ngāi Tahu
Cost: $300,000
Community gardens are often associated
with schools and early childcare centres,
allowing students and their families
to enjoy and learn from the experience
of others in their local community.
Community gardens thrive in suburban
Christchurch, this project will encourage
gardens to be established within the
Central City.
Three new community gardens are
planned for the Central City as part of
a network of new Central City parks.
The Council will work in collaboration
with community organisations, such
as the Canterbury Community Gardens
Association, Central City schools,
residents’ associations and Ngāi Tahu to
identify and develop sites. At least one site
will be dedicated to edible and medicinal
native plants to showcase our natural and
cultural heritage.
Council support will be tailored to the
needs of each site, but could include land
purchase, site development, equipment,
storage facilities or the provision of fruit
and nut trees. Sites will be cared for in
partnership with the community and
links with community, school and early
childcare education programmes, and
Central City farmers markets will be
encouraged.
New pocket parks will be created
throughout the heart of the
Central City to provide accessible
green spaces for workers,
residents and visitors to enjoy
a range of social and cultural
activities.
Pocket parks help create liveable and
attractive cities. They offer inviting places
to have lunch, meet friends, be entertained
or respite away from the bustle of city
life. Pocket parks enrich daily life and
omplement architecture, historic buildings
and important places.
Parks will be designed for a wide range
of uses, including sporting and leisure
activities, and will reflect Christchurch’s
natural and cultural heritage.
About 10 to 12 pocket parks will be
provided through a combination of land
purchase, developer partnerships and
incentives. They will range in size from
75sqm to 2000sqm and provide a mix
of uses. To celebrate tangata whenua
concepts and identity Maori, themes and
artworks will be incorporated into the
design of appropriate parks. Sites will be
created to align with redevelopment and to
encourage commercial activity.
Above: Pocket parks will provide a range of
intimate spaces to surprise and delight.
Pocket parks project
When: Six pocket parks purchased in
the commercial core by 2018 and the
balance by 2030
Where: Pocket parks throughout the
compact commercial core
Who: Provided by a combination of
Council land purchase, developer
partnerships or incentives for private
redevelopment
Cost: $5.2 million
Family-friendly parks
Four family-friendly parks
located along an inner-city green
network will provide space for
fun and fitness, enhancing city
living and provide improved
access to open spaces.
Increasing the availability and quality of
open spaces is considered vital to provide
for a diverse range of urban lifestyles. This
project will fill gaps in the allocation of
green space in the Central City and offer
creative design solutions to accommodate
a range of users as asked for by the
community.
Playgrounds, community gardens, public
art and cultural elements will be linked to
improve access throughout the Central City
to cater for varied interests and activities.
These spaces will provide a venue for
people all ages and cultures to meet and
interact. Heritage trees will be preserved
and biodiversity will be enhanced on the
proposed Greenway.
The Council will secure four parcels of land
early in the development process through
a land acquisition protocol to promote
development of the greenway network. Two
parks will be developed in the southern
area and one to the east and north of the
city centre. These will be dog friendly
parks. Easements will also be considered to
improve access to the parks and along the
walking and cycle-friendly green network.
Also see Central Playground in City Life.
Family-friendly parks project
When: Develop two parks by 2016
and two parks by 2020
Where: Two parks will be developed
in the southern area and one to the
east and north of the city centre
Who: Christchurch City Council
Cost: $3 million
Draft Christchurch City Council Central City Plan
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