Measures of Success:

Funds being retained on budget for the Organics Processing Plant to be relocated.

Progress to date:

March 2025

The Community Liaison Group (CLG) have met four times since March 2024. CLG is a community forum to discuss consent compliance for the Organics Processing Plant, discharging contaminants to air and water and use of land to organic matter and decaying organic matter. At the last CLG meeting on 18 February 2025 it was noted from members of the community that there has been an improvement in odour compared to last year.

Ecogas are in the initial stages of its procurement process for the construction. They have started the tendering process and are working with several local businesses, where possible. CCC has granted the consent and ECan are processing the resource consent application.

Living Earth has engaged Tonkin and Taylor to conduct a review of the biofilter. A thermographic review of the biofilter has been completed with initial findings showing no dead spots and a consistent temperature through the biofilter which is a positive outcome. During the monitoring period, dust levels were within the permitted limits, with no exceedances recorded. The CLG were provided with an update on Pattle Delamore Partners proactive odour monitoring. They reported that no compost odour detected in the residential zone during this reporting period.

On the 27 February 2025 the Waitai Community Board heard from staff regarding the future use of the OPP site once it has been completely transitioned to Hornby. The Board gave their feedback on the engagement process for this, requesting early pre-engagement and a thorough consultation process starting with those affected most (the Bromley community) before going out to the wider pubic.

March 2024

On Wednesday 6 December 2023, the Council approved the establishment of a new organics processing plant, procuring Ecogas as the new long-term organics processor.

Councillors also approved a short-term option for managing kerbside organics until the new plant is operational. All kerbside organics are now being processed indoors at the Organics Processing Plant in Bromley and as of 19 January 2024 all material that had previously been stored outdoors was removed clearing the site completely of any compost material.

A timeline showing how the new Ōtautahi organics processing facility in Hornby was provided by staff on 21 March. The new facility is expected to be fully operational by December 2026.

September 2023

The Community Board made a submission to the Council to advocate for the Organics Processing Plant to be moved on 21 September 2023. The Chair and Deputy Chair continue to raise and advocate for this at the monthly Council meetings.

Measures of success:

Receiving regular updates and information on the progress being made at the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Progress to date:

Measures of success:

Receiving regular monitoring updates from ECan on reported odours etc. in the East. See a decrease in complaints from residents about odour and midge activity.

Progress to date:

March 2024

Community Governance staff have supported the monitoring team in connecting with residents to install a sensor at Mecca Place in Bromley to monitor air quality.

Measures of success:

A plan change approved by Council to better regulate/ control industrial activities in close proximity to residential areas.

Progress to date:

March 2025

The Community Board arranged for a community hui, held on 6 March 2025 to provide an update on the recent Environmental Court decision on the Port Link site, and the up-coming District Plan Change consultation. The hui provided an opportunity for residents who are living with the negative impacts of the container storage site to get a full understanding the Environment Court’s decision and were able to ask questions of staff on other aspects of the issues such as the noise monitoring and landscape plan.

Measures of success:

Support funding for a dedicated Estuary/wetland Ranger in recognition of the special ecological values of these areas.

Progress to date:

March 2025

Working alongside South Shore Residents Assocation, the The Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai (both groups that the Community Board support with funding) held their annual Farewell to the Godwits event early March to which around 750 people went along to mark the occasion. The event raises awareness and provides information on the Godwits, their habitat and threats. Since September 2024 the Trust have also organised clean-up events, worked with schools to remove plastic from the beaches around the Ihutai and delivered school educational talks. The group also completed a comprehensive count of the Godwits as they arrived in October, keeping track on how the species are doing year on year.

September 2024

Improving health of waterways

• In April 2024 the Community Board submitted on the Ōtākaro Avon Stormwater Management Plan.
• Through the 2024-25 Strengthening Communities funding round the Waitai Community Board granted the following groups funding towards their projects protecting and enhancing waterways:

The Plan was approved by Council in June 2024. The plan lays out what the Council will do to reduce the amount of contamination entering the waterway, meeting the requirements of its 25-year Comprehensive Stormwater Network Discharge Consent (CSNDC), which was granted by Environment Canterbury in 2019.

• Avon Ōtākaro Network: $8,000
• Ōpāwaho Heathcote River Network: $4,000
• Pūharakekenui Styx Living Laboratory Trust: $8,000

Over 1,000 volunteers took part in Mother of All Clean-ups 2024 on Saturday 13 May, with 63 groups allocated a stretch of riverbank, stream or estuary edge to clean up. More than 600 bags of rubbish were removed from Christchurch waterways in total. March 2024

With funding support from the Community Board the Avon Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust have coordinated and/or delivered the following initiates in the Waitai area as part of the 2020-2030 Estuary Managment Plan.

• South New Brighton Park restoration – working bee once a month to plant, mulch, weed and prune along the Ihutai between Bridge Street and the jetty off Beatty Street.
• Thistledown Wetland Reserve restoration – volunteers meet every last Saturday of the month to plant, mulch prune and clear the stream.
• Annual Farewell to the Godwits ceremony in collaboration with Southshore Residents Association
• Mother of All clean-ups – 56 community groups and several kura groups collected 2.3 tonnes of rubbish
• Mugford Drain Restoration Project – working with Council rangers, Forest and Bird Youth Club the Trust meet one Saturday each month to work on a 20 hectare section along Anzac Drive that is now part of Bexley Park.

Ōpāwaho

With funding support from the Community Board the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River Network (ORHN) have coordinated and delivered the following:

• Raised awareness and advocacy on bin behaviour and the opportunities for Council parks to be bin free to change mindsets and move to the Department of Conservation model of “take you litter with you.”
• Gathered scientific data and submitted on the environmental impact of operations at Port Link for the awa
• Laura Kent Reserve restoration project – working bees the first Saturday of every month
• Steamwharfe Stream – working bees the last Saturday of every month

Measures of success:

Support funding for initiatives to improve health of waterways and biodiversity by reducing contaminants and pollution and reducing sediment in river/ wetland environments; increasing riparian planting; prioritisation of delivery of stormwater and flood management basins.

Progress to date:

September 2024

Lower Heathcote Ōpāwaho River Guidance Plan

As part of the LTP $5million has been included over the term of the plan ($5000,000 per year over 10 years) to provide necessary expertise to develop the Lower Heathcote Ōpāwaho River Guidance Plan into an implementation plan with prioritised projects and commence implementation on the Lower Heathcote Ōpāwaho River Guidance Plan.

March 2024

With funding support from the Community Board the Avon Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust have coordinated and/or delivered the following initiates in the Waitai area as part of the 2020-2030 Estuary Managment Plan.

• South New Brighton Park restoration – working bee once a month to plant, mulch, weed and prune along the Ihutai between Bridge Street and the jetty off Beatty Street.
• Thistledown Wetland Reserve restoration – volunteers meet every last Saturday of the month to plant, mulch prune and clear the stream.
• Annual Farewell to the Godwits ceremony in collaboration with Southshore Residents Association
• Mother of All clean-ups – 56 community groups and several kura groups collected 2.3 tonnes of rubbish
• Mugford Drain Restoration Project – working with Council rangers, Forest and Bird Youth Club the Trust meet one Saturday each month to work on a 20 hectare section along Anzac Drive that is now part of Bexley Park

Measures of success:

The Estuary is better protected from disturbance from dogs, with better signage and compliance with bylaws.

Progress to date:

March 2025

With the support in funding received from the Waitai Community Board the Styx Living Laboratory Trust have delivered the following activations, projects and events to raise awareness and supporting enhancement of the Pūharakekenui (Styx) River catchment: · Afforestation Project to assess how authentic their restoration planting has been and where is can be improved.

· Augmented Reality Project – partnering with Lincoln University using H5P technology to generate virtual reality views of underwater environments from the perspective of native freshwater species. The project aims to raise awareness about the impact of pollution and sediment in the awa.

· eDNA Project – tracing the genetic material found in the catchment to support research on invasive species, ecosystem health evaluation and identifying what species are inhabiting the catchment.

· Janet Stewert Reserve Harakeke Restoration – selective removal of harakeke to restore the health of the harakeke so that it can be harvested as a resource.

· Lower Styx River Restoration – removing toxic weeds, controlling willow and underplanting eco-sourced plants along riparian margins in Earlham Street, Brooklands.

· Mapping project – created an interactive map which displays data sets like bus routes, walking tracks, planting locations, park and reserve locations.

· Stories of the Styx: Preserving the Pūharakekenui River – podcast series featuring interviews with staff and volunteers at the Styx Living Laboratory Trust talking about their mahi and life in the Styx.

March 2024

With the support in funding received from the Waitai Community Board the Styx Living Laboratory Trust have delivered the following activations, projects and events to raise awareness and supporting enhancement of the Pūharakekenui (Styx) River catchment:

• Styx Trap Library
• Underwater Wednesdays
• 5 x Working bees to clear invasive weeds and plant native at Christine Heremaia Field Centre and Styx Loops Conservation Reserve
• 2 x Bus tours around the middle Styx and Ka Putahi Creek catchment
• Produced a quartley newsletter The Styx Pūharakekenui as well as contributed articles of interest to The Styx Post Community Newsletter.
• Delivered Educational talks and tours to various organisations including Haka Tours, Marshall Hall Trust
• Hosted 5 kura as part of their educational programmes
• Planted 4,200 trees in the Pūharakekenui Esplanade Reserve
• Fish survey sampling five streams
• Hīkoi ki Kā Pūtahi event as part of the 2024 Christchurch Hertiage Festival

Measures of success:

Work with the community to identify and develop positive social and recreational spaces for the community across the board area.

Progress to date:

March 2025

• In February a new governance model was agreed for the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor. Decisions about the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor red zone area are now made by a new committee consisting of Ngāi Tūāhuriri and elected members. The two partners will build on the existing working relationship with Whitiora Centre Limited and work with the University of Canterbury Ngāi Tahu Research Centre. This will enable the governance entity to take a cultural and science-based approach for the restoration of the wetlands and delta in the OARC.
  
  
• The first phase has seen the creation of an interim Committee of Council, consisting of up to three representatives appointed by Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and up to three Council representatives. The Council representatives will include the Mayor and Deputy Mayor and one of the councillors who represents the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor local communities. The second phase will see the establishment of a charitable trust for longer-term governance.|
  
• In December 2024, the first play and recreation space in the OARC Regeneration Plan was officially opened. This portion of the project is the first recreational and play space in the Regeneration Plan to be delivered. The upper terrace area of the Avon Park redevelopment was officially opened on Thursday 5 December. The kaitiaki team and kapa haka group from Whītau school came to test the play area out. Some of the students have been involved at the park for the last three years mulching, planting and helping on site. The project has added valuable play space on the East of Christchurch. Work is continuing on the lower portion of the park, and new areas will be opened up in the coming months with work on the basketball court started in January 2025.
  

Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Plan

• In April, Citycare was awarded the $5.5 million contract for the redevelopment of Avon Park, which involves the creation of the long-term stopbanks and removal of the temporary stopbanks, along with an upgrade of the park’s recreational facilities, removal of contaminated material, planting and a portion of the City to Sea Pathway.
• Te Kohanga Taiao Sensory Nature Park on Brooker Avenue was opened in June 2024. A partnership between Hummingbird Coffee, The Green Lab and CCC, the park is nestled within restoration plantings in the Ōtākaro Avon Forest Park. The new park aims to serve as an educational hub and a nature haven to encourage a deeper connection with the environment.
• This year's planting season was the biggest season yet for the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor (OARC) with thirty community days delivered. There are two sites, Waikākāriki Horseshoe Lake between Goodman Street and New Brighton Road and the area around Belair Close alongside Corser Stream, which were of particular focus for the 2024 season. Supported by Council’s Sustainability Fund, Conservation Volunteers New Zealand in partners with the Red Zone Rangers Team managed to get 11,000 native trees and shrubs in the ground in the regeneration area.
• The last planting session was completed at the Anzac Reserve site just off Brooker Avenue at the end of August. This site has now been completely inundated with natives as part of the work to develop a native forest along the river corridor.
• Eco-Action Nursery Trust have organised and delivered three community planting events in the red zone since the previous update. This group has focused on the Chimera Crescent site, along Atlantis Street and the QEII site in QEII Park.
• The project is now in the fourth month of the construction program. Work commenced in early May to decommission the existing sports facilities and install new footpaths. The upper terrace, consisting of the playground, a sports field, basketball court and community gardens are under way.
• The foundations for the playground are in and the team have started installing the nature play-inspired equipment. The trees and shrubs for this portion are currently being installed.
• The Avon Ōtākaro Network have organised five working bees at the Dudley Stream Future Forest, site of the former Banks Avenue School in the Red Zone, where Dudley Creek converges with the Ōtākaro.

September 2023

The Board have received two briefings regarding significant Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Plan projects including Avon Park redevelopment and Kerrs Reach Activity Zone. 27 planting events totalling 4058 volunteer hours, 29 restoration maintenance events totalling 2379 hours and community garden reported activity has resulted in 2551 volunteer hours having taken place in the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor between 1 November 2022 and 18 September 2023.

September 2023

The Waitai Community Board supported the following groups with funding through the Strengthening Communities Funding round:

• Avon Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust - $2,000
• Styx Living Laboratory Trust - $2,000
• Ōpāwaho Heathcote River Network Incorporated - $1,750

Two groups were supported through the Council Sustainability Fund with projects in the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor.

September 2023

Temporary projects/Activations in the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor: - New project in Dallington which is a rangatahi led bike building project on Moyna Avenue.