Thank you for the invitation to attend the AGM.
May I acknowledge Trust Chairman Steve Lowndes and members of the Trust, Cr Andrew Turner, representatives of the Akaroa Wairewa Community Board.
I have had a special day here today and I thank everyone who has helped make that happen.
The tragedy that was played out in Paris only a week reminds us how quickly our world can change and how the things which we have always taken for granted can be snatched away.
In many respects we have experienced the same sense of loss in Christchurch during and after the earthquakes.
The difference though is that the earthquakes were natural, even though some of the disastrous impacts were man made, but in Paris there was nothing natural about acts designed to instil terror in the hearts and minds of people; nothing to give meaning to meaningless acts of violence.
We have seen the people of Paris come together in the wake of the tragedy and we in our part of the world know how important that is.
Our communities came together after the earthquakes to look after each other and also to help other badly affected communities – the Student Volunteer Army and the Farmy Army mobilised incredible support.
There is still sadness for what has been lost.
Much of what defined Christchurch – gave us our identity - was found in our built and natural heritage. The latter was largely untouched – the Garden City survived.
But most of our built heritage has been damaged or lost altogether. These were precious buildings that gave us a collective sense of belonging, and connected us to those who came before. They gave us our sense of place. We knew where we were – now we feel lost – familiar landmarks have gone.
This has made what has been retained and that which can be restored all the more precious.
Banks Peninsula falls within the Christchurch City boundaries, but lines on maps don’t create connected communities. Akaroa is right on our city’s doorstep. But I believe we in the city have taken it for granted. Coming here to a small but bustling vibrant environment after the earthquakes gave us from the city a sense of everything being alright.
We are extremely fortunate that Akaroa survived the earthquakes relatively intact. It has become a place that grounds us with its familiarity and an unbroken link to our natural, cultural and built heritage. We must never take it for granted again.
As a council we are committed to the restoration of the heritage buildings that remain, but there enormous challenges in the wake of the scale of damage.
It isn't always the easiest option or the quickest one to repair and restore treasured heritage buildings. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it can be frustrating, difficult and costly, often throwing up unexpected challenges but this doesn't alter our commitment and our resolve - it just tests our patience endlessly - not to mention our budget.
But here in Akaroa things seem so much more achievable than they do in the city.
And that largely comes down to the commitment of the Trust to preserve the beauty and history of Akaroa. I had the privilege of presenting the Trust with a Civic award last year in recognition of the outstanding contribution you have made.
So let me work through the progress.
When I was invited to come here there was a hope that this meeting would be held in the Gaiety Hall.
This has been an example of what I would call the avoidance factor. There is one thing about restoration when the damage is obvious, but another thing about preservation and conservation when it is not. As you will know the existing building structure contained a high proportion of timber framing that was either borer infested, rotten and non-compliant. This means the stage wall has to be deconstructed and rebuilt. This also requires new foundations being reinforced with screw pile support to protect the rear wall from settlement due to the close proximity of the stream.
The addition of the works for the stage walls and foundations now mean that we expect to hand over the facility at the end of March 2016. Staff are investigating if a Certificate of public use can be obtained to enable the planned celebrations on January 30th may go ahead. It is important to say that the Stage will not be complete by then and will have to be sectioned off.
I believe that the celebration should proceed if that’s what the community wants. But there is an option of waiting for the moment that the Gaiety can be celebrated in its full glory. It’s over to you.
The Akaroa Museum has had all the earthquake repairs and strengthening completed and handed back to Linda Wallace and the team. I really appreciated the opportunity to visit them with the Friends of Akaroa Museum this morning.
The roof replacement and new environmental control system will ensure the artefacts will have a safe and purpose built environment for the enjoyment of the thousands of tourist visitors that pass through the doors of this establishment each year. I was thrilled to see the just over 11,000 visitors last year more than doubled to over 25,000 in the year just gone. The effect of removing the charge is clear.
What truly inspired me though was the presentation about how visitors will experience the collections in the future. The story it will tell of the people, this place and the connections between them will be inspiring and I can’t wait for the re-opening.
I should also take the opportunity to offer congratulations to the Banks Peninsula War Memorial Society on their commitment and resolve to restore the War Memorial in Akaroa. I'm sure it was a very proud and special day for the Society and for the people of Akaroa when the Governor-General unveiled the memorial last month and acknowledged the sacrifice of those with connections to the communities here.
The documentation and scope of works for the Akaroa Court House have been completed. This means we are all ready for work to start April 2016 at the completion of the current tourist season and should take approximately. eight weeks.
Another important tourist attraction, the Akaroa Customs House has had the design works completed and is about to go for Resource consent. Construction will start in Feb 2016 and be completed April 2016.
The Akaroa Coronation Library is currently open and being used by the public. The scope of works will not only cover making good earthquake damage but will also review the energy efficiency of the building. This work is due to start in Feb 2016 and last for 12 weeks.
Detailed design documentation and scope of works has been completed for Akaroa LE Cottage and this will also be ready for work to start in April 2016 at the completion of the current tourist season. Resource and Building consents will be applied for in January 2016 and the works at that point will also be tendered for main contractor's services.
The Akaroa Weighbridge is the same in that detailed design documentation and scope of works have been completed and ready for work to start April 2016 at completion of the current tourist season. As this is maintenance only to the building Resource and Building consents are not required. Procurement and tendering of the works will be completed in January 2016.
The Akaroa Service Centre design drawings have been updated in line with the requests from the local community board and Staff. The plan is for all external works, crack repair and painting to the exterior and the replacement of the roof to be completed prior to April 2016 so we get a clear weather window for roof replacement. On completion of the exterior works we will start on the EQ repair and interior service centre fit out expected start date May 2016 and be completed toward the end of 2016.
This may have sounded like a Facilities Rebuild update and it was. When I first came over here as Mayor, I met one of the Council staff who showed us through the facilities we couldn’t otherwise access. And that was the Council’s Project Manager, Richie Moyle. He came to give me an update on Thursday in preparation for today.
Can I say that I have been impressed with his professional commitment to his work here, but what is even more striking is his personal passion for these important parts of history and what they mean to this and future generations.
Councillors may make decisions, but it’s people like Richie who make things happen and when there are delays, they feel just as disappointed as the community.
So I have commented on the built heritage, but I am reminded every time I come here, of the outstanding landscapes that make up the natural heritage and also give us our sense of place.
I became much more aware of the extent of that during the District Plan Review, a process which made me realise that bringing two plans together – one largely urban, the other rural – was not one that benefitted from the fast track process.
It is now in the hands of the Independent Hearings Panel, but I wish I knew what I didn’t know at the start of the process. To be honest I would rather have had a statutory process rather than a process governed by an Order in Council we did not have the opportunity to properly negotiate with the Crown. It has created a real misalignment with our communities who feel that their voice has been lost.
This came to a very public head with the Coastal Hazards chapter but other issues have been drowned out by the focus on that aspect of the DPR.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has emerged as the voice of reason and she has offered us a way of engaging our communities in discussions about what our coastal environments will face in the future and how we prepare for that.
As a Council we will continue to engage with you as residents and as the Akaroa Civic Trust.
As she said there is no rush!
I am going to side-track onto one other issue. I know some of you made a submission on the Representation Review. The submissions that we received were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping Banks Peninsula distinct from the urban wards and this is the proposal that we will be referring to the Local Government Commission. We have combined the two community boards though, but with four subdivisions for voting.
Just to give you the timeline -the Council publicly notified the final proposal on Friday (20 November) and it will be open for appeals and objections for a month. The final proposal will then be referred with all appeals and objections to the Local Government Commission, which will hold hearings in Christchurch early next year. It will make its final determination by 10 April 2016.
The Representation Review process has highlighted the real challenge of a merger between a large urban council and a small district council.
In conclusion, thank you for the invitation to come. I love Akaroa and its importance to Christchurch has been reinforced by our experience.
It is a wonderful community – with all the characteristics of a community - people, place and the connections between them.
If there is one thing I’ve learned it’s the importance of building social capital – that’s what the Civic Trust, the Akaroa Museum, the Friends of Banks Peninsula and all the other groups have done.
Your commitment to preserving the character of your unique township is ensuring the preservation of the social and cultural fabric for future generations.
And no council could do it without you.
The tragedy that was played out in Paris only a week reminds us how quickly our world can change and how the things which we have always taken for granted can be snatched away.