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The South-East Central neighbourhood is the area bounded by Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue, Colombo Street, St Asaph Street, Manchester Street and Armagh Street.

It’s an area that’s rapidly changing, and over the next 10 years we expect it to have undergone a significant transformation.

We’ve been working with the community to develop a draft neighbourhood plan to take the area into the future.

Over the last year, we have invited the community to share their ideas and received over 600 pieces of feedback from more than 220 current and future residents, businesses, organisations and developers.

This feedback has shaped the draft neighbourhood plan and we'd now like to make sure we've got it right. The plan is summarised below, and you can read the full draft here.

The character of South-East Central

South-East Central is an area of diversity, home to people from all walks of life and where a wide range of businesses thrive – development here is already transformational, and we want that to continue in a planned and sustainable way.

Te Kaha – Canterbury’s Multi-Use Arena – is emerging from the ground, becoming a strong presence that hints of future entertainment, sporting and other events it will draw to the city.

The area includes Latimer Square, One Central, the SALT District, the Atlas Quarter, Te Pukenga (Ara Institute of Canterbury) and the commercial area between Barbadoes Street and Fitzgerald Avenue.

The neighbourhood is also becoming a thriving hub for art, cuisine, retail, innovation and learning.

New developments in the area

Why does this area need a neighbourhood plan?

This neighbourhood plan is part of the Central City Residential Programme Project 8011, endorsed by the elected council in 2018. A key ambition of the programme is to have 20,000 people living in the Central City by 2028.

Encouraging and supporting growth in this area will help us deliver on our post-earthquake plan to create a vibrant, green and thriving city centre.

The South-East Central Neighbourhood Plan will help guide future improvements and decisions for the area and help ensure these align with the overall vision for the neighbourhood.

We’ll work with the community as work progresses in the area, now and in the future.

Vision statement

Themes for a great neighbourhood

The wealth of feedback we received from the community helped us shape five key themes for the neighbourhood’s future. Our draft South-East Central Neighbourhood Plan reflects these themes and outlines goals and actions for us to work through with our partners and the community:

  • Good mixed-use neighbours

    This neighbourhood includes businesses and residents that adapt and work well together, with an improved offering to meet needs of residents and visitors.

    This looks like:

    • Residents understand what’s already available – places, services, activities and businesses.
    • Services are helped to grow to meet need as the population increases.
    • Existing businesses are helped to navigate the challenges of a mixed-use environment.


    See actions 1, 2, 3 in the draft plan. 

  • More people in quality housing

    Housing growth will be supported to include a range of housing options to meet needs of all ages, abilities and families.

    This looks like:

    • Developments that improve neighbourhood liveability are encouraged.
    • We incentivise housing growth through investment in the public realm.
    • We explore opportunities to work collaboratively with housing providers to support the growth of social and affordable housing.


    See actions 4 & 5 in the draft plan. 

  • Healthy, green neighbourhood

    South-East Central has a range of green and open spaces, that enhance lifestyle and help build resilience to climate change.

    This looks like:

    • More shade through increased tree canopy cover.
    • Pockets of open, green space.
    • The neighbourhood is more resilient to climate change.


    See actions 6, 7, 8 in draft plan. 

  • Easy and enjoyable to get from A to B

    People have more travel choice, with safe journeys and more appealing roads, footpaths and bus services.

    This looks like:

    • Better pedestrian and cycle links around the neighbourhood and to key destinations.
    • Safe, accessible, and pleasant routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
    • Existing and new transport services better aligned to residents’ needs.


    See actions 9 & 10 in draft plan. 

  • Strong sense of community

    The neighbourhood has an established identity and residents feel connected and involved in community activities.

    This looks like:

    • Fostering and promoting local identity and character.
    • Enabling people to build community connections.


    See actions 11 & 12 in draft plan.  

We also heard a lot of feedback from the community about the importance of music venues in this vibrant neighbourhood. A project is underway to see how noise can be managed in areas that have both homes and businesses, which you can find more about here.

Key actions

What change can you expect to see?

Now
Now
In transition
In transition
In future (10+ years)
In future (10+ years)

  • Now

    The neighbourhood is mostly commercial, with pockets of residential areas that are continuing to pop up. The area is not visually attractive, lacks vibrancy and needs more trees to provide shade.

  • During transition

    We anticipate this area will attract more investment when Te Kaha is completed and open.

    Streets surrounding Te Kaha will be upgraded, there will be opportunities for private investment and new homes will be built to meet demand.

    We expect to see a mix of housing alongside existing businesses, with some new three and four-storey developments.

  • In future (10+ years)

    Our vision is for a green neighbourhood that’s easy to get around, with a growing residential population.

    There will likely be more multi-level apartments more mixed-use developments.

    With Te Kaha operating, and a higher population, the area will be attractive for business activities, including hospitality, everyday service providers and office work.

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