North Canterbury News: November 30, 2023

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NC business booming
By ROBYN BRISTOW
Business is booming in the Waimakariri
District, according to the latest
Infometrics Quarterly Economic Monitor
(QEM).
Commissioned by the Waimakariri
District Council the report paints a
positive picture overall for the
Waimakariri District.
Commercial (non­residential) consents
top the list with amassive 177.7% increase
for the year to September 2023, compared
to just +3.7% nationally.
Waimakariri’s non­residential
construction sector built up astrong
pipeline for future activity over the
September 2023 year, with consents worth
$81m issued, buoyed by a$13mconsent for
retail building, says the report.
House sales, consumer spending,
employment, guest nights and GDP have
also increased in the past year.
Enterprise North Canterbury (ENC)
Business Support Manager Miles Dalton
says, Waimakariri is experiencing an
excellent level of GDP growth at 2.4%,
outpacing national growth of 1.7%.
‘‘This is fuelled by astrong performance
in the construction and professional
service sectors.
‘‘Commercial consents have rocketed
up, showing that this is afast­growing
business community.
‘‘All the numbers appear to be heading
in the right direction,’’ he says.
Local businesses are feeling the upturn
too, with the recent North Canterbury
Business Opinion Survey in October
showing amarked increase in confidence
among North Canterbury businesses.
Jerome O'Sullivan, Development
Manager at Ravenswood Central, one of
North Canterbury’s largest new
developments says, they are very
encouraged by the districts growing
business confidence.
‘‘We see this in the number of increased
commercial leasing enquiries we are
receiving, as well as the new businesses
opening in the area.
‘‘We are optimistic this will continue to
grow over the next 12 months with the
swell of business activity, increase in
consumer spending and commercial
interest in the district.’’
Mr Dalton says there were acouple of
less positive statistics in the report, most
notably the dairy payout, which
Infometrics forecasts will drop to $217m
from $246m last year.
‘‘Unfortunately, the farmgate dairy
payout for Waimakariri farmers is lower
than in previous years, and is not
expected to improve in the short term.
‘‘Additionally, conversations with
hospitality and retailers show some in
these sectors are still doing it tough.
‘‘But the positive results shown in this
report bode well for better performance
next year.’’
Bus shortage in Canty
By DAVID HILL,
Local Democracy Reporter
More people are using public transport in
Canterbury, but there's not enough buses
to keep up with growing demand.
Environment Canterbury chairperson
Peter Scott said bus use in the Greater
Christchurch area has grown significantly
over the last year, placing services under
pressure during peak times.
‘‘We are going to need to make alot of
buses over the next 10 years to keep up
with demand.’’
The regional council last week voted to
order five new electric buses so it could
increasethe frequency of apopular
Christchurch route.
Buses will run every 10 minutes on
Route 7, between Queenspark and
Halswell, when the new buses arrive in
six to 12 months.
Bus patronage in Waimakariri, in the
year to October, was up 21 percent on pre­
Covid levels (2018/19), while the Selwyn
district saw a25.27 percent increase,
council's public transport strategy and
planning manager Sonia Pollard said.
Environment Canterbury had no spare
buses in the fleet, so any improvements
were subject to funding being approved,
Ms Pollard said.
NEWS
North Canterbury News, November 30, 2023
25
‘‘This is why we are getting underway
now with this for our Route 7uplift, which
we hope to implement next year.
‘‘We are working with central
government to identify ways we can
respond to changes in demand, in
particular areas where demand exceeds
capacity which is focused on the peak
times.’’
Speaking at arecent council meeting,
Cr Scott called on the new Government to
help regional councils with the
challenges.
There needed to be more consistency
and the new Government should "look at
this with other regional councils’’.
Environment Canterbury completed a
Public Transport Futures Programme
Business Case in 2019, which estimated
an extra 100 buses would be needed over
10 years.
Anew business case is being prepared
in preparation for the 2024/34 Long Term
Plan and for next year’s National Land
Transport Programme, prioritising
transport spending.
Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon says he
is pleased to see asignificant increase in
bus patronage from the district. ‘‘A lot of
the country’s emissions come from
transport so it is great to see that our
improved services are working for people.
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