Restoring Christchurch’s Natural Waterway Heritage

The Christchurch City Council's Waterway Enhancement Programme has been operating successfully in partnership with local communities for the last year. The aim of the Programme is to enhance and where possible restore the City’s streams, creeks and other open waterways through planting native species.

 

There are now examples of waterway enhancement along many of the smaller streams, creeks and channels throughout Christchurch. Examples include creating wetlands (Styx River at Janet Stewart Reserve), removing concrete channels (Jacksons Creek at Cameron Reserve), removing timber (Papanui Stream at Erica Reserve) and planting corridors of wetland vegetation (throughout the City, such as along Nottingham Stream in Halswell, Steamwharf in Woolston and Kaputone Stream in Belfast).

 

Public Recreational Open Space

In a growing city such as Christchurch, the role of public recreational open space is one of vital importance. The City’s areas of public recreational open space make it a more attractive place to live and visit. They contribute to Christchurch’s ‘garden city image’ and are important areas for all types of recreation.

 

At June 1996 Christchurch City had 578 public parks plus Bottle Lake Forest on the north east of the City. Overall there are 3,488 hectares of parkland in the City. While the majority of parks in the City are small and local, catering for local needs, the greatest land area is taken up by ecological or conservation parks situated in areas like the Port Hills and along rivers or the coastline (Table 2.11).

 

Table 2.11. Total Number and Hectares of Parks 1996
Type of Park	Number of Parks	Total Hectares
Local Park Small Neighbourhood facilities generally less than 1 hectare, local in character, generally containing few buildings and often with play equipment	325	152
District Park Larger parks, usually larger than 2 hectares, serving a district function, with sports grounds and associated facilities	103	997
Metropolitan Park Facilities which serve residents from all over the City, usually a major sporting facility or Central City park.	15	277
Ecological/Conservation Park Those parks which are important for ecological conservation or historical reasons and cemeteries	135	1,232
Sub Total	578	2,658
Bottle Lake Forest		830
Total		3,488

Source: Christchurch City Council

 

Recreational open space is generally acquired by the City in four ways:

• it is given to the Council;

• it is set aside in a new subdivision;

• it is acquired by the Council using development levies accumulated from past subdivisions; or

• it is bought by the Council using general funds

 

Most local and district parks are acquired when new subdivisions are laid out, while metropolitan facilities are usually built on land bought specifically for this purpose. During the year to June 1996, there has been an increase of 13 parks within the City. This translates to an additional 16 hectares of parkland.

 

The total provision of public recreational open space in the City is currently considered to be adequate [7] but there is considerable variability in the distribution of open space throughout the City. There are also particular deficiencies in terms of, local and district parks in various areas of the City.

 

In July 1996, there was a major addition to the City’s stock of open space with the City Council Purchasing the remaining 60 hectares of the 116 hectare Travis Wetland area. Travis Wetland is zoned conservation 1 under the Proposed City Plan of Christchurch. It is Christchurch’s last sizeable remnant of pre-European freshwater wetland. It is proposed that the wetland will be managed as a "Nature Heritage Park" in the future to complement the unique ecological, scientific, recreational, and educational value of the area.

 

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