In 2020, we reached out to the Shirley community to find out what they wanted in the reserve. We heard a variety of feedback but we were faced with some barriers, mainly because of COVID-19.

Last time, the 58 submitters that we heard from were split. Half supported replacing the old community centre at this location while the other half supported developing the area into a dynamic open green-space with suggestions including planting, a walk-way, community garden, food forest and a BBQ/picnic area.

The results from the consultation are shown below:

How would you like to use 10 Shirley Road? (multi-response)


How would you like to use 10 Shirley Road? (themes grouped)


How can we make the most of things already at 10 Shirley Road?

Before the Canterbury earthquakes, the facility was Shirley Primary School (1916-1977) and Shirley Community Centre (1979-2011).

The facility was damaged in the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes and then demolished in 2012 after being classified as unsafe for use.

The building was home to a number of community organisations and programmes which enriched Shirley and helped people to connect with each other.

These organisations and programmes included:

  • Senior Net
  • New Zealand Society of Genealogists
  • Pottery programmes
  • Parent Centre
  • Santa Workshop
  • Canterbury Embroiders
  • Shirley Recreational Walkers
  • Shirley Leisure Group

After the earthquakes, many members from the Shirley community raised concerns that not replacing community hub in the reserve would mean that social isolation and lack of community collaboration would become worse.

In its place, the reserve was fitted with numerous recreational facilities that you see today such as a basketball court, playground, pump track and a large green space.

In 2019, Council carried out a feasibility study to investigate the replacement of the Shirley Community Centre.

The report highlighted the following:
  • The previous community facility played a crucial role in enhancing community well-being. A range of activities were lost when the community facility at10 Shirley Road was removed post-earthquake. A number of these groups have since been re-established in other locations:
    • Senior Net (moved to Westminster Street)
    • New Zealand Society of Genealogists (moved to Parklands Community Centre)
    • Pottery (disbanded)
    • Parent Centre (moved to Bishopdale, now at The Village @ Papanui)
    • Santa Workshop
    • Canterbury Embroiders (to Hammersley Park)
    • Shirley Recreational Walkers (meet on Chancellor Street)
    • Shirley Leisure Group (finished up because no suitable building in the area on a main bus route)
  • Since 2011, non-Council organisations have built or committed to building new community facilities in the area including:
    • Shirley Community Trust (with their community facility in MacFarlane Park) and;
    • Delta Community Trust, introducing a variety of community facilities in Shirley and Richmond.
  • A key point raised was the dependence on faith-based community facilities, which could be a barrier to some people using their space. It was identified that there was a need for flexible multi-use spaces with storage space as well as long-stay spaces. Faith-based organisations did contribute significantly to the number of community spaces, programmes and activities in the area.
  • To a lesser degree, there were some non-faith-based community facilities that were highlighted as contributing to the area, including:
    • the former St Albans Shirley Club, a facility with an emphasis on community access,
    • Avebury House and the upgraded facilities,
    • Kohinga St Albans Community Centre,
    • It was also highlighted that there were many more community activities taking place in the Shirley community.
  • The report identified opportunities for the reserve to increase it's value and sustainability, not by developing a community centre but instead by developing a space suitable for short-term assets along with long-term ones that encouraged community-led events in the space.
  • Examples of these long-term solutions included:
    • Play areas
    • Pump tracks
    • Coffee cart/food truck areas
    • BBQ and picnic areas