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New Brighton Residential Density Study
| LOCATION: | Christchurch |
|---|---|
| CLIENT: | Christchurch City Council |
| CONTACT: | Ken Gimblett (planning), Tim Church (urban design) |
| OUR ROLE: | Statutory planning, urban design, landscape planning, visual communication, consultation, project management |
New Brighton is a seaside suburb on the east side of Christchurch where demand for higher density residential development has been increasing. The Christchurch City Council commissioned Boffa Miskell to study the capacity and desirability of increasing residential density in central New Brighton.
There were many inter-related issues to consider, including community opinion, so a comprehensive and consultative approach was taken. A multidisciplinary project team was formed, comprising Boffa Miskell's statutory planners, urban designers, landscape architects and graphic communication specialists, as well as a range of other experts. Technical investigations included:
- potential shading,
- wind tunnel and visual implications of building heights and bulk;
- geotechnical and natural hazards
- infrastructure, transport and community facility capacities; and
- economic and social effects that might arise from community growth and change.
Six scenarios of differing densities and building heights were modelled to assess and compare potential effects. Mapping, 3D modelling and animation techniques were particularly valuable for assessing effects and visually illustrating the scenarios to the public.
To gauge community opinion, comment was invited through public meetings and open days where the six scenarios were graphically portrayed and explained.
Taking into account community opinion and the technical investigations, Boffa Miskell recommended a district plan change that would provide for a mixed-use scenario, based on a combination of existing rules already used elsewhere in Christchurch. A Section 32 analysis was completed (a requirement under the Resource Management Act to weigh up comparative costs and benefits) and the district plan change was subsequently incorporated into the City Plan after going through the notification and hearings process with no appeal.
Others we worked with closely: Fitzgerald Applied Sociology (social impact assessment), Opus International (wind engineering advice), SIMES (market analysis), Traffic Design Group (traffic assessment) and URS (geotechnical hazard report).