BRIDGE ON THE RIVER AVON

PHOTO BY ROSS BAYNES, CMT GROUP

Third bridge on Avon River corridor

Pedestrians and cyclists now have better access to enjoy the Avon River corridor with the recent opening of Snell Bridge, pictured.

The last of three pedestrian and cycle bridges connecting the wetlands and the neighbouring communities, the Snell Bridge is accessed from Snell Place in Dallington. The other two are the Avondale Bridge which crosses the Avon River at the end of Briarmont Street in Avondale, and the Medway Bridge from Medway Street in Richmond.

All three bridges at Avondale, Medway Street and Snell Place and a new riverside landing at Dallington were crafted by HEB Construction, and sub-contractor CMT Group, funded by a $13.7 million grant from the Christchurch Earthquakes Appeal Trust.

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LIANNE DALZIEL CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL | MAYOR Winter in Christchurch

It feels like we’ve passed a milestone once we get past the shortest day, but I often fi nd that’s when the truly cold weather arrives.

Having four distinct seasons, however, is one of the things I love about living in Christchurch.

With the July school holidays about to start there are some fantastic events happening across the city that are well worth braving the cold for.

The Winter Fireworks Spectacular at New Brighton on Saturday 9 July will set things o with a real bang.

Moving this event to winter really does make sense, with the earlier time so much easier for families. We’re also really fortunate to have KidsFest in our city o ering hundreds of activities, workshops and events to keep our younger folk entertained, informed and educated.

This two-week festival has been running for three decades and it’s the envy of towns and cities across the country.

A newer event on the winter calendar, and a chance to showcase our magnifi cent Christchurch Town Hall to a younger audience, is the Go Live Festival later this month. Two nights of concerts for all ages will be featuring some incredible homegrown musical talent.

So, while it might be cold outside there is a real buzz about our city in winter. I suggest that you invite family, friends and even colleagues to layer up and enjoy some of what’s on o er in our amazing city.

ROSS STEELE TE PAE CHRISTCHURCH | GENERAL MANAGER A win for us all

It has been great to hear the stories of local businesses beginning to notice positive effects to trade, as a result of the centre being operational.

We’re thrilled to fi nally be playing our part in the regeneration of the city. For the remainder of the year – in fact until this time next year – the calendar is looking full, meaning the benefi ts will continue to fl ow for local businesses. But with a full event calendar, comes the need for sta to service those events. While we have a fantastic team of casual, part-time and permanent sta , business has bounced back stronger than expected, so we are looking to employ more people ahead of schedule. Like many in our industry, we have not been immune to the recruitment challenges currently facing the hospitality and events sector. With many of those with hospitality experience leaving the industry during Covid-19, the challenge now is to recruit new talent. As part of the ASM Global family, we are fortunate to be able to o er international job and career opportunities for sta through our worldwide network, and we hope this will entice those who have been thinking about the hospitality sector to give it, and us, a go. We are out in market for several roles now, with more to follow. If you, or someone you know have ever considered a move into events or hospitality, be it for a casual role or a career, now is the time to get in touch.

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ALISON ADAMS CHRISTCHURCHNZ | CEO Economic booster

The biggest challenge facing Christchurch businesses is the labour shortage. This is one of the economic factors contributing to infl ation, which we are all experiencing.

ChristchurchNZ has been working on two initiatives to help reduce the impact of the shortages.

Last week we launched the PowerUp campaign, designed to inform, inspire, and connect women on their career journeys, with a focus on those who have been unemployed for extended periods of time.

Following a labour market hui we held with local Canterbury businesses at the end of 2021, women were identifi ed as one group who are currently underemployed and underutilised so PowerUp was designed to support women into work.

The insights of that industry hui also heavily infl uenced the delivery of an advocacy paper around the skills shortage. Alongside the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, we made the case for more skilled migration that focused on the most severely a ected industry sectors — manufacturing and hi-tech.

These two sectors are strategically important due to their signifi cant number of high-value jobs, export revenue, growth potential and contribution to regional prosperity.

The advocacy paper called on Government to approve 5500 additional skilled migrant visas in those sectors over the next 12 months. Having shown the need, we recruited and supported industry spokespeople as we made our pitch to business reporters, resulting in national stories in NBR, RNZ, and BusinessDesk, which may yet move the Government’s position.

SIMON KINGHAM UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY | RESEARCH PROFESSOR Shared transport impact

The impact of shared transport on two different Christchurch communities could determine transport goals for New Zealand

I’m leading a team of researchers studing two National Science Challenges – Ageing Well and Healthier Lives – to understand the impact of shared transport options into a lifestyle village and a community housing trust on those communities. Current transport systems and accessibility are not sustainable due to inequity of accessibility, greenhouse gas emissions and congestion. The study aims to answer the question: If people share vehicles, what impact does that have on them, their mobility and wellbeing? When people share vehicles, they may make a slightly better decision, which produces good outcomes for climate emissions. They may decide to walk or take the bus. Or, if they take the car, they may choose to do more on the journey. However, we don’t want those decisions to be at the expense of wellbeing. Shared fl eets of vehicles are often electric and used more often; meaning they are replaced earlier, tend to be safer and cleaner and result in people not worrying about on-road or maintenance costs – all leading to positive wellbeing. Most of those living in the lifestyle village were fairly a uent and more active, they still felt inadequate transport limited their ability to do all the things they wanted, while cost posed the biggest barrier for those in the community trust. The study has been running for over a year, with another 2.5 years to go.

& real estate from the head the heart

Be it emotional or analytical, much is made of the reasons people transact real estate.

When purchasing or deciding to purchase there is often robust debate about the rationale for someone’s decisions. The parties involved can be vendors, buyers, real estate consultants, lawyers, valuers, building inspectors and can now include digital valuation systems.

Everyone wants to play a part, as well as have a say, and it’s a crowded and often confusing space.

If it’s an investment property, there’s often a predetermined strategy based on the financial benefits or otherwise of the purchase, and this can be seen in a ‘dollars and cents’, ‘return versus costs’ framework.

People usually know the rules.

If they spend too much on the purchase or during renovation and they don’t sell for a certain amount, then the end result will often be disappointment. You see this particular scenario played out most weeks, however the market we have enjoyed over the past 18 months saw the reverse of this: astronomical figures achieved regardless of the initial cost of the property and subsequent investment.

But not everything is analytical. In fact, some of the biggest motivations for people to buy or sell are deeply emotional and might make sense only to them.

Examples I’ve noted over the years have included the purchase of neighboring properties. The disparaging ‘nosey neighbor’ label gets bandied about more than I care for, but I’ve seen significant prices paid by neighbors who wanted to protect boundaries or views, or wanted other family members to live close by. They believed in the value of the location and in some cases had waited patiently for the opportunity. Owners that chose to sell at auction often achieved wonderful premiums because of this.

Another emotional factor I’ve witnessed is the acrimonious split, where you see two common scenarios: the ‘I don’t care because I’m off to a better life’ and the ‘I’ll fight you every step of the way because I feel betrayed and belittled’.

The skill required to navigate these situations with care and professionalism isn’t the domain of everyone and I’d always suggest doing significant due diligence to find a professional who has the skill to look after all parties whilst delivering the best result, because there may be an emotional minefield ahead.

And before you think it can’t be done, it can; I’ve seen it.

But for me, perhaps the most emotional of all sales transactions are the ones involving couples who – having lived long and wonderful lives together – must sell to move into supportive care.

You walk through properties full of nostalgic memories, photos, books, furniture, mementoes and ‘stuff’. The stuff of life and you realize on their behalf how hard it is.

That’s when emotion really comes to the fore. In one example that comes to mind, I had the enormous privilege of meeting a couple that had lived a full and valued life, but it was time to move.

They worry, have they left it too late? And (this is common) I worry that we have a deadline hanging over us requiring a sale by a certain date so they can move to the residential village.

Their friends worry about auctioning, which we believed was the best process due to the deadlines just mentioned – and the nature of their property – and their family worry about all the things families lose sleep over when they have elderly parents.

Economics are important, of course, but the emotional factors in all of this are much more important.

So why share this?

It could be that I want our elderly clients to move safely and with dignity to their new home.

It could be because my own parents are now at that age and although they tell me in no uncertain terms that they are never moving, I worry every winter.

Or it could be that no matter what any of us think, people will make their own decisions. It might be purely financially driven or it might be deeply emotional. It’s important to find out which it is before you wade in. And for real estate professionals working in this space, know what’s best, do that and more, and remember that life is a mixture of facts and feelings.

Lynette McFadden

Harcourts gold Business Owner 027 432 0447 lynette.mcfadden@harcourtsgold.co.nz