Central City Redevelopment

CCC have created a website designed to allow residents (and presumably any one else who visits the site) to look at redevelopment ideas, click on the ones of interest, and vote for them.

A somewhat unusual method of getting input and, if one were a little cynical, easily manipulated. You can get to it from here and it is worth a visit as it heralds a new digital way of doing things. It is not democratic (i.e. not one person, one vote for those who are directly involved with the city) nor is it transparent (who is voting and how many times), but it is becoming the junk food style of conveniently hearing a voice of the people.

The background to this website, the Community Expo next weekend, and other things we have yet to hear about, is the creation of a Central City Plan (see next blog) to submit to CERA for approval before Christmas. The approach being taken by the council is to break the areas to be planned for into four categories:

• Move – how people get to and around the central city
• Market – how to encourage economic activity in the city centre
• Space – what our city looks like and how space is used
• Life – how to create a vibrant centre that’s a great place to live, work and play

The very approximate timeline for this planning process is:

• two months of consultation
• draft Central City Plan completed by mid-July
• consultation on the plan starting with submissions, which close in September 
• hearings in September and October
• plan worked on and finalised by December
• final Central City Plan presented to CERA in December.

Not yet known is what happens once CERA get the plan.
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