Friday 24 July 2015

Council says "ready, willing and able" in response to CERA's transition plan

Christchurch City Councillors today gave a unanimous and resounding endorsement of the Government's proposal to return leadership to the city.

The Councillors were debating their formal submission on the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's (CERA) Draft Transition Recovery Plan which deals with the city's recovery and development at the expiry of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act in April 2016.

As part of this plan the Government is seeking feedback on central Government stepping away from its leadership role and moving towards a more supportive role, enabling local leadership to come to the fore.

With its Long Term Plan and 10-year budget secured, Mayor Lianne Dalziel says, "the city is now ready, willing and able to assume this role."

In its submission, the Council explains what it means by regeneration.

"Regeneration is not just a physical process, with built capital to the fore, but more importantly, an improvement and uplift in the social, cultural and creative capital that defines great cities. New proposals such as community currencies, community-led planning and investment, and ways of engaging communities in management and ownership of public spaces - the commons - demonstrate the shift in thinking coming from a revitalised commitment to ensuring citizens can participate in making decisions about the future of our city."

In order to achieve this, the Council submits that:
· Conversations about Christchurch's future must take place in Christchurch - it is time for the Council to become a policy maker rather than a policy taker;

· The default position should be that functions are carried out by the Council under normal democratic local government processes;

· The City Council must resume responsibility for the realisation of the regeneration of the central city with support from its communities and recovery partners, the Crown, Ngai Tahu, ECAN and the private sector.

Councillors acknowledged the vital role the Crown had played in the initial stages of the recovery and the need for the Council and Crown to remain in partnership. However, in its submission it says:

"Collectively, the Crown and Council must develop a more coherent and transparent governance and leadership environment that improves levels of confidence in the community and in the private sector and ensures that there is a coherent strategy and implementation plan for the next recovery and regeneration phases.

"The Council invites the Crown to signal in the draft Transition Plan its intent to support the ongoing recovery and regeneration functions and activities by developing an enduring collaboration between the two parties. This collaboration must be founded on mutual respect, standards of good faith and confidence that working together will bring the greatest benefits for Christchurch.

"The aim would be that outstanding recovery functions and future regeneration and growth decisions made by the Crown and the Christchurch City Council on matters of common interest to them are made together and are directly aligned."

The Mayor says that, "the transition represents a fantastic opportunity for the people of Christchurch to be part of the next transformative phase of our city's future. Our communities have already told us that they want to partner with us to ensure the regeneration of the city as a whole."

The Council submission on the Draft Transition Recovery Plan can be viewed at:
http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/TheCouncil/meetingsminutes/agendas/2015/July/Council23July2015CouncilContinued-Clause26.pdf
CERA's Draft Transition Recovery Plan can be viewed at:
http://cera.govt.nz/recovery-strategy/leadership-and-integration/transition-recovery-plan
The closing date for submissions on the Draft Transition Recovery Plan is 5pm on 30 July 2015.

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