Latest news with #ChristchurchCityCouncil


Otago Daily Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Watch: Big screens going in at Christchurch's new stadium
The big screens are being installed at Christchurch's new $683 million central city stadium. In a video released on Thursday, Christchurch City Council project director Kent Summerfield said the landscaping and big screens are being installed at One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha after another big month of progress on site. 'We're getting into the business end of the project now with landscaping and external works well underway,' Summerfield said. The external works are now 'particularly advanced' at the southern end of the site, which backs onto Tuam St in central Christchurch. 'In total, we'll be planting around 10,000 native trees and plants around the site over the next few months. These will be in a mixture of raingardens, garden beds and planters,' says Mr Summerfield. The stadium grounds will tie in with the wider area, which has just undergone a major roading and water network upgrade as part of the council's Te Kaha Surrounding Streets package of works. One New Zealand Stadium will have two replay screens, each around 150m2, along with 770m of LED ribbon boards around the stands. Work is also on track inside the stadium. 'On the level one concourse, fit-out of the food and beverage outlets is progressing nicely. There will be 32 of these outlets dotted around the perimeter of the concourse,' says Summerfield. The video also offers a look at the view from a coaching box on level four of the west stand, which sits above the corporate suites. 'This level will also house media, officials and communications equipment,' says Summerfield. The installation of the stadium's LED screens has also started this month, with the frame for the first of two replay screens lifted into place in the south-west stand. 'Construction of the second screen to go in the north-east of the site is also underway. We're also well advanced with installation of the ribbon boards to the level one concourse,' says Summerfield. One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha will have two replay screens, each around 150m2 in size, along with 770m of LED ribbon boards around the stands. 'The team has been working hard and continuing to make great progress on site. We remain on track for an opening in April 2026 and on budget,' says Summerfield.


Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Exhibition digs up lost stories from the city's oldest cemeteries
Photo: Christchurch City Council A new exhibition aims to shed light on the stories from Christchurch's oldest cemeteries. Grave Insights: Plotting Lives in Christchurch Cemeteries is part of the regular series, Tuakiri Investigates. It will run from Thursday, July 24, to September 14 at Tūranga. The project has been developed to complement the Christchurch Family History Expo, which is being held from August 2-3. Said city council acting head of libraries and information Rosie Levi: 'This exhibition will appeal to anyone who might have spent time meandering in some of the city's older cemeteries and wondered at the people buried there – who they were and the lives they might have led.' Using the cemetery plans and other resources, the Tuakiri team uncovered some of those lost stories. John Guntrip was buried alongside his second wife, Sarah, in plot 89C at the Barbadoes St Cemetery. Photo: Supplied They include a grandmother and grandson buried side by side, a soldier buried at sea, and one of Christ Church Cathedral's first bell-ringers among them. John Guntrip was buried in plot 89C at the Barbadoes St Cemetery, alongside his second wife Sarah. John was head sexton at the cemetery for many years after he beat out 38 other candidates to claim the position in 1875. Originally John was a gardener from Middlesex. He arrived in the city on the Huntress in 1863 and started showing his horticultural skills, creating fruit, vegetable and flower displays for Christchurch Horticultural Society shows. He also became one of the first bellringers at the newly built Christ Church Cathedral in 1881. John died in 1916. The Rutherford Street (Woolston) Cemetery opened in 1852. Photo: Supplied Another story to arise was about Mary Ann Harvey. Mary was buried in the Rutherford St (Woolston) Cemetery following her death on February 29, 1917. Her granddaughter Lillian May Arnold, died on December 22, 1916, and was buried at the foot of the plot. Mary also rests alongside a memorial to her son, Josiah, who died at sea from influenza somewhere between Sierra Leone, West Africa, and Plymouth, England, on his way to World War 2. The Rutherford St Cemetery opened in 1851 and closed in 1885. It is the oldest cemetery in the city, followed by Woolston Cemetery, which dates back to 1866.


Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Stadium street upgrades finished in Christchurch
The major street and water network upgrades around Christchurch's new $683 million central city stadium have been completed. Christchurch City Council city infrastructure general manager Brent Smith said the Te Kaha Surrounding Streets package saw 350,000 cobblestones, 5176 plants, and 5.5km of new pipes added to the area. The project was wrapped up about four months ahead of schedule. "We want to thank all the local businesses, residents and commuters for their understanding and patience during construction," Smith said. "The stadium sits at the heart of a busy neighbourhood and, while we pushed to minimise any impact, we know works can be disruptive." The work, which started in July last year, involved upgrading the water infrastructure and roads around One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha to "support the growing south-east central neighbourhood and make it easier for people travelling around the stadium". "We worked with our contractors, Isaac Construction, to find any efficiencies in the programme and get in and out as quickly as possible," Smith said. Contractors worked weekends, occasional night shifts and a 57-hour "super weekend" to upgrade the water infrastructure under the intersection of Manchester and Lichfield Sts. "The results are great. Lichfield St has been transformed into a multi-use civic space. "This will be a key route for people travelling between the stadium and central city by foot, tram or vehicle. "The paved street ties in really well with the High St upgrades we did last year and the wider area." Smith said the sections of Barbadoes, Tuam and Madras Sts around the stadium have also been upgraded. They now have new footpaths, gardens, pedestrian crossings, and street and traffic lights. "The final layer of asphalt on the footpaths around the stadium will be completed later in the year, in conjunction with the landscaping works currently underway within the stadium grounds."


Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
'350,000 cobblestones, 5176 plants, 5.5km of new pipes'
The major street and water network upgrades around Christchurch's new $683 million central city stadium have been completed. Christchurch City Council city infrastructure general manager, Brent Smith, said the Te Kaha Surrounding Streets package saw 350,000 cobblestones, 5176 plants, and 5.5km of new pipes added to the area. The project was wrapped up about four months ahead of schedule. "We want to thank all the local businesses, residents and commuters for their understanding and patience during construction," Smith said. "The stadium sits at the heart of a busy neighbourhood and, while we pushed to minimise any impact, we know works can be disruptive." The work, which started in July last year, involved upgrading the water infrastructure and roads around One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha to "support the growing south-east central neighbourhood and make it easier for people travelling around the stadium". "We worked with our contractors, Isaac Construction, to find any efficiencies in the programme and get in and out as quickly as possible," said Smith. Contractors worked weekends, occasional night shifts and a 57-hour "super weekend" to upgrade the water infrastructure under the intersection of Manchester and Lichfield Sts. "The results are great. Lichfield St has been transformed into a multi-use civic space. "This will be a key route for people travelling between the stadium and central city by foot, tram or vehicle. "The paved street ties in really well with the High St upgrades we did last year and the wider area." Smith said the sections of Barbadoes, Tuam and Madras Sts around the stadium have also been upgraded. They now have new footpaths, gardens, pedestrian crossings, and street and traffic lights. "The final layer of asphalt on the footpaths around the stadium will be completed later in the year, in conjunction with the landscaping works currently underway within the stadium grounds."


Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
350,000 cobblestones, 5176 plants, 5.5km of new pipes: Stadium street upgrades finished
The major street and water network upgrades around Christchurch's new $683 million central city stadium have been completed. Christchurch City Council city infrastructure general manager, Brent Smith, said the Te Kaha Surrounding Streets package saw 350,000 cobblestones, 5176 plants, and 5.5km of new pipes added to the area. The project was wrapped up about four months ahead of schedule. "We want to thank all the local businesses, residents and commuters for their understanding and patience during construction," Smith said. "The stadium sits at the heart of a busy neighbourhood and, while we pushed to minimise any impact, we know works can be disruptive." The work, which started in July last year, involved upgrading the water infrastructure and roads around One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha to "support the growing south-east central neighbourhood and make it easier for people travelling around the stadium". "We worked with our contractors, Isaac Construction, to find any efficiencies in the programme and get in and out as quickly as possible," said Smith. Contractors worked weekends, occasional night shifts and a 57-hour "super weekend" to upgrade the water infrastructure under the intersection of Manchester and Lichfield Sts. "The results are great. Lichfield St has been transformed into a multi-use civic space. "This will be a key route for people travelling between the stadium and central city by foot, tram or vehicle. "The paved street ties in really well with the High St upgrades we did last year and the wider area." Smith said the sections of Barbadoes, Tuam and Madras Sts around the stadium have also been upgraded. They now have new footpaths, gardens, pedestrian crossings, and street and traffic lights. "The final layer of asphalt on the footpaths around the stadium will be completed later in the year, in conjunction with the landscaping works currently underway within the stadium grounds."