One of the best parts of this job getting out to talk to people face to face. One of the key themes I've heard is that people want progress on New Brighton mall, Pages Road Bridge and long over due repairs to broken roads and footpaths.

One of the best parts of this job getting out to talk to people face to face. One of the key themes I've heard is that people want progress on New Brighton mall, Pages Road Bridge and long over due repairs to broken roads and footpaths. The good news is there is a lot of work happening in that space, with private investment into the mall, improvements to public amenities, and planned renewals of roads and Pages Road bridge all underway in the next year!

See more here: https://bit.ly/3M2xH0q

There is also a heap of exciting community-led projects in the pipeline, including "Blooming Brighton" which is a collaborative community garden project initiated and led by Caroline from the Carnaby Collective and The Burger Joint, with support from the New Brighton Community Gardens and others.

Here's a few updates of what is underway or planned to the get progress on the Mall and infrastructure

• Oram Ave Extension - Advocated to progress the Oram Ave pilot and demolition of Westpac building in 2023.
• Public Realm funding - Secured 50,000 in the 2022/2023 Annual Plan for work to begin on the design and investigation work of future work on New Brighton Master Plan.
• Tidying up vacant land - At my request Council will receive a report on extending vacant land scheme to New Brighton, which will charge owners of derelict and vacant sites higher rates, is due April/May next 2023.
• Working with council-led residential developments to provide high quality/affordable housing that integrates into the community on Beresford Street and Seaview School
• Pages Road bridge replacement and upgrade to nearby roads - report due back to Community Board in a few months. 
• CRAF funding approved and draft design being developed for renewal of Marine Parade (between Hawke and Bowhill) and nearby streets.
• Interim New Brighton Mall amenities - work underway to investigate funding for lighting, water access for gardens and seagull-proof bins and other amenities.
• Transport funding, secured additional 20,000 funding in 2022/2023 AP secured to add additional cycle-stands in key areas in mall.
• Work underway to improve accessibility with mobility parking improvements on Oram Avenue.

Supporting our Business and Community to Thrive (supported by ChristchurchNZ)

• Neat Places Marketing Campaign ("New Brighton Good Life Guide") - A dedicated insiders guide to the best local spots, featuring Sam and Caro from the Burger Joint and Reuben from Watch This SpaceBusiness Support –
• Targeted workshops to support local business, run alongside the NZ Business Mentors network
• Blooming Brighton: A collaborative community garden project to add amenity, beautify and engage groups within the commercial core of New Brighton, led by Caro from the BurgerJoint, Cath and Lin from the New Brighton Gardens.
• Town Teams workshop: Town Teams are a positive and proactive approach to developing the place collaboratively, with input from businesses, residents, community groups and anyone else keen to get involved.
• Arts and culture – Funding and support for local events including Matariki, the New Brighton Gallery to update signage and Mosaic Club for some further works from ChchNZ.
• Secured 20K funding for the Community Board, to support local events and projects with a focus on wellbeing, as part of the social recovery response to the wastewater treatment plant
• New Brighton Arts, Heritage and Culture tours - Advocated for further arts and culture’ tours, following on from the successful 'Watch This Space' Urban Art tour.