Meeting

Sustainable Canterbury ~ Mauriroa Waitaha

Next meeting:

Sunday 4 December 2011, 3-5pm at the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), 59 Gloucester Street, Christchurch. Sustainable Canterbury monthly facilitated workshop.

Previous meeting notes:

Monday 21 November 2011 ~ election year 350 Water Forum, 7.30pm at the WEA, Christchurch. Sustainable Canterbury ‘coalition?’ panel discussion.

Sunday 6 November 2011, 3-5pm at the WEA, 59 Gloucester Street, Christchurch. Sustainable Canterbury monthly facilitated workshop.

Monday 31 October 2011, 7.30pm at the WEA, 59 Gloucester Street, Christchurch. Sustainable Canterbury facilitated Public Forum.

Sunday 16 October 2011, 3-5pm at WEA, 59 Gloucester Street, Christchurch. Sustainable Canterbury monthly facilitated workshop meeting.

Saturday 24 September 2011, 3-5pm at WEA, 59 Gloucester Street, Christchurch. Sustainable Canterbury monthly facilitated workshop meeting.

This page, 5/5:

Monday 12 September 2011, 7.30pm at WEA. Public Forum:
Presentation – Light-rail public transport options for Christchurch – by Richard Worrall. All welcome, hot drinks provided, venue koha please.

Angers light rail system - France

RegioTram Kassel - Germany

Pix: Tramway Irigo Angers 2011 + RegioTram Kassel VÖ09-2011

Christchurch City Council link advertisement bethere.co.nz/arts

Note material for Christchurch Central City Plan light rail discussion:
Angers Tramway Jour J 25/06/11 +RegioTram Kassel [clip removed by host] +
REIMS TRAMS MAY 2011 + Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy.

Media Release: Sustainable Canterbury

Date: 9 September 2011

Subject: Christchurch light rail passenger transport

A meeting on Monday will engage with the Draft Central City Plan – on its light rail system design, implementation schedule and costings especially. This is to better inform public submissions on the Plan, which close the following Friday. The meeting is organised by Sustainable Canterbury, a group active in Christchurch around water, energy, food and economic issues for the past two years.

A presentation will be made by Richard Worrall, a rail transport researcher and feature writer for The Press on the subject of light rail over the last fifteen years.

“Richard has been studying the best route, available equipment and price range for an urban light rail system in greater Christchurch,” says Sustainable Canterbury spokesperson Rik Tindall. The public are invited to “come and hear Richard’s informed and constructive views.”

Comparisons will be drawn between Worrall’s findings and what is in the Christchurch City Council’s draft plan.

“An invitation is extended to staff of the Selwyn and Waimakariri district, Canterbury regional and Christchurch city councils, who are responsible for this planning area, to attend as resource persons for this Q&A workshop,” Tindall says. “A laptop and data projector will be on-site for illustrative use, and a panel discussion may form.”

“We are mostly interested in the reasons behind starting with a city-to-Ilam link and the $410M total cost, and whether a cheaper, more productive alternative is available,” Tindall reports. “We want better information so that rate-payers can make up their own minds on the proposals in front of us now.”

The meeting will be held on 12 September, at 7.30 pm at the WEA, 59 Gloucester Street, with hot drinks provided. The next Sustainable Canterbury monthly organising meeting is on Sunday 25 September at 3pm, also at WEA.

Tindall, a former regional councillor who had Civil Defence and Communities for Climate Protection responsibility, sees sustainable transport as much more than a Christchurch City issue.

“We like the general tenor of the Draft Plan and its environmentally sustainable aspects. as there is great need to factor in global change, towards carbon capture and innovation for new jobs that will be funded by the international carbon market,” Tindall says.

“Regarding transport, sustainable use of natural resources is both possible and very desirable, bringing new industry and opportunity for unemployed youth in particular. We support the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy, and see the need for cooperative good planning to proceed, adapting to earthquake effects,” Tindall concludes.

[Ends]

Published: Christchurch.scoop 9 Sept 2011 + St Albans Community Centre news; Proposed cost, route ‘outrageous’ stuff.co.nz/the-press/news 12 Sept.
Ref. Get on the right track with city rail The Press 12/09/2011

Christchurch recovery threatened “quake-weary property owners start using their insurance money to buy new buildings in Auckland and overseas” 19 Sept 2011.

4/5: August 2011
Sunday 14 August, 3-5pm at WEA Christchurch. Sustainable Canterbury monthly meeting. Debate towards endorsement of the biocrude project, more forums, etc. Present: Tony, Lorna, John, Rik

SCMW meeting notes 14Aug11

3/5: Tuesday 9 August 2011, 7.30pm at WEA. Public Forum:
Chris Bathurst, Engineer of the Bromley algal-biofuel project, spoke on the prospects for sustainable fuel self-sufficiency for Canterbury / New Zealand:
The Oil Crisis and Waste Water to Oil.
Chris’s slideshow notes: Presentation to Sustainable Canterbury 110813
(2.1MB pdf) – extract e.g.:

Biofuel output figures - Chris Bathurst 9Aug11

Background information:

Solray Engineering news article, July 2011, p.1

Solray Engineering news article, July 2011, p.2

Sustainable Canterbury media release #2, for 9 August meeting promotion:
Renewable transport fuels and energy independence 5 August 2011. Coverage gained: published as Renewable transport fuels and energy independence on scoop.co.nz and Canterbury Public Issues Forum e-democracy.org ; Sustainable Canterbury ~ Energy bethere.co.nz/community Christchurch City Council listing

2/5: July 2011
Saturday 16 July, 3-5pm at the Workers’ Educational Association, 59 Gloucester Street, Christchurch. Sustainable Canterbury monthly facilitated workshop.
Present: Tony Raizis, Lorna Sventivanyi, Rik Tindall. Apologies: Richard Worrall.

Agenda – open, & Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA)
Based on our work at engaging with CERA in June, the scorecard so far is:
Versatile soils conservation – Strike 1.
CERA Community Forum – members announced 25 June – watching brief..

Refs: Proposal for 2400 houses near Redwood Press 18/06/2011 ; New Chch village may rise out of quake rubble 3News 23/06/2011 ; Potential for 20,000 homes “Environment Canterbury (ECan) and local councils have reconsidered a restriction on urban limits to make room for thousands of new Christchurch homes. Yesterday, ECan confirmed it had asked the Environment Court to approve moving out the boundary set in 2009 to limit new housing development sites. The shift would clear the way for Prestons, a planned suburb with 2700 sections in Marshland, as well as other areas on the outskirts of Christchurch and surrounding towns. ECan commissioner Peter Skelton said the councils supported the shift because of the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ after the quakes. The proposal to alter the limits, set out in the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy, will be heard at a special Environment Court hearing in Queenstown. Any developments within a new limit would still be subject to scrutiny by the Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri councils.” Press 24/06/2011 ; Pressure on to develop Christchurch land & Diverse group makes up quake forum Press 25/06/2011

Sustainable Canterbury meeting notes 16jul2011

1/5: June 2011
Sustainable Canterbury meeting held Sunday 19 June, 3pm to 4.30pm at WEA.
Present: Tony Raizis, Lorna Sventivanyi, Rik Tindall.
Apologies: Brian Sandle, Juliana Venning.

Agenda:
1. Christchurch current situation – update, personal stories, discussion, etc.
2. Response to Christchurch housing emergency – notes as below:
3. Media release – Rik to produce, nominated as spokesperson.
4. August public meeting – suggested speaker Chris Bathurst re algae bio-diesel project – Rik to invite.
5. Next meeting – Sunday 17 July, 3-5pm at WEA.

Sustainable Canterbury ~ Mauriroa Waitaha ~ media release #1
1. Engagement with Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) – start.
2. Sustainable Canterbury endorses the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy (UDS) and urges CERA to fully uphold the UDS as a planning instrument. This in great preference to ‘Auckland-style’ developer free-rein, that could look like a quicker and easier solution here right now. We are concerned to not see lost inappropriate land parcels in the Christchurch green belt.
3. We request, however, a ‘super-charged’ UDS – to rapidly establish a New Christchurch Village (or whatever people may choose to call it) for the rehousing of earthquake-displaced residents – in the south-west UDS area particularly. This area is highly preferred for a number of reasons, mostly infrastructural, but especially because of the more open space for urban development there (to be kept at safe distance from the Greendale Fault). Require purchase of whatever land is needed to continue Christchurch’s expansion south-west, on solid and free-draining ground – beyond the aquifer recharge and Christchurch International Airport zones – south and east of Rolleston in the area bounded by Burnham, Springston, Lincoln and Prebbleton.
4. Start creation of frequent rail-passenger transport between this new urban area and Tower Junction in Christchurch, extending that to Rangiora and Lyttelton if this is more economical to do so now, and later if not.
5. Secure Housing Corporation involvement in the rapid development project. Bulk temporary accommodation must feature along with extensive permanent housing. We do not see the currently proposed in-City-park temporary accommodation as adequate for the mammoth housing and resilience task ahead.
6. Building criteria to be: solid framing, light cladding, and minimised use of concrete (reduce tilt-slab construction).
7. CERA is requested to launch its Community Forum quickly. We are expecting to see visionary sustainability advocates like Di Lucas, Colin Meurk, and a representative of Sustainable Otautahi Christchurch (SOC) included there. The nature of our ongoing engagement with CERA depends on these decisions.

More information: greaterchristchurch.org.nz + cera.govt.nz

All present were sure that a great many people we know would agree with what we propose here. Our first media release Christchurch housing emergency thus went straight onto Scoop.co.nz and was reported in The Press of 27 June 2011: “Canty group seeks ‘supercharged’ plan for Christchurch”, p.A9.

SCMRW meeting 190611

Earlier meeting notes: Water Forum 2009-2011