Guild Street Development Update JUNE 2020

LINK TO THE FULL DOCUMENT HERE

29 May 2020
Dear Neighbours

I am writing to give you an update on the new housing development taking place at 40 Guild St/
73 Stapletons Road. As you may already be aware, Resource Consent was granted in March for a
new housing development to be built on the old Churchill Court Rest Home site and work has now
started there. The Christchurch Methodist Mission has leased the land from Anglican Care for 34
years for the purpose of community housing. 16 relocatable houses (that have previously been used
by people having their earthquake repairs done) will be moved onto the site during July. There are
two 4 bedroom, twelve 3 bedroom and two 2 bedroom houses. 15 will be used as family homes and
the sixteenth will be a community house, providing a place for the residents and wider community
to gather for activities. I have attached a site map with this letter.
Miles Construction are responsible for the construction of the site and Laings will be moving the
houses. It is hoped that the whole development, including landscaping, will be complete by the end
of this year and that families will be able to move in over the Summer. In the Spring, when the
houses are in place, we hope to be able to meet with surrounding neighbours who look onto the
houses to review the plans for planting and look at what additional planting may be necessary.
All of the families who move into the houses will be in desperate need of housing. There is a
shortage of housing across the country and 700 households are currently on the Social Housing
Register in Canterbury. The Christchurch Methodist Mission is a registered Community Housing
Provider and has extensive experience in the provision of both transitional and long term housing
for families. These 15 houses are all for long-term housing where families can raise their children,
attend local schools and participate in the local community. In all of our social housing, the
Christchurch Methodist Mission provides ongoing social work support to families as needed.
The Community House provides an exciting opportunity for a number of activities to take place such
as coffee mornings for parents, after school groups, gardening clubs and so on. Christchurch
Methodist Mission will have a community worker based at the house to support these initiatives
and any issues that the residents have. We would be very interested to hear from members of the
wider community your ideas as to how the Community House could be used by existing neighbours
or community groups or what types of activities you would like to see developed there.
The Delta Community Support Trust have developed a community vegetable garden on the corner
of the site. The construction company have met with Delta and have fenced off the community
garden so that it will not be destroyed during the construction process. Due to health and safety
issues, the community garden is not able to be accessed during the construction phase. However
over the next few months, the Methodist Mission will talk with Delta about working together to
regenerate the garden when construction is complete.

In the meantime, we are conscious that the construction work will be noisy as trucks deliver and
unload hardfill and excavators load up trucks and trailers for material to be taken away. Subject to
weather and ground conditions, the bulk earthworks will continue for between 6 and 8 weeks. The
Stapletons Road site entrance will be used for these operations and this entrance will be the main
entrance during the construction period.
Whilst the site will not be operational outside Council permitted times (7am to 6pm Monday to
Fridays and 8am to 6pm Saturday), trucks transporting the homes from Linwood Park are required
to be on the roads in the early hours of the morning when there is less traffic. The first two
relocatable homes are scheduled to be delivered to the site, most likely via Hills Road, Dudley Street
then Stapletons Road, early July. The remaining nine pairs of home deliveries (larger homes require
2 transporter trucks and trailers) are scheduled to be transported to site during the month of
July. Once the trucks and trailers are on site, their engines will be turned off and work to lift them
onto the foundations will resume from 7am.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience during this time. We will send further updates
during the construction period and we are happy to answer any questions.
We were pleased to meet with the Richmond Residents and Business Association last Tuesday night
and greatly appreciate their support in ensuring that ongoing information regarding the project is
communicated through them. The Christchurch Methodist Mission is committed to working closely
with the local community as this new complex develops.
Key people who you may wish to be in contact with regarding this project are:
David Kolien, Senior Project Manager with Rangzen Projects Limited Tel: 027 226 8375
Andrea Goodman, Housing Manager, Christchurch Methodist Mission Tel: 027 504 6760
Annie Smith, Practice Leader, Housing (responsible for social support to tenants), Christchurch
Methodist Mission Tel: 027 818 7112
Jill Hawkey, Executive Director, Christchurch Methodist Mission Tel: 021 157 4692.
For those we haven’t yet met, we look forward to meeting you and working together on this new
development.
With warmest regards

Jill Hawkey
Executive Director

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