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Some of the issues we now face are rooted in bad planning decisions from
60 years ago when our former local authority, the Riccarton Borough Council, decided to establish the city’s first shopping mall in our historic area of Christchurch, very close to the central city.
The photo shows the foundations being laid in the middle of a residential area next to Riccarton Bush, opposite a few existing shops on the north side of Riccarton Rd.
The location was a mistake. By the time local authorities unified in 1989 it was clear the Mall was competing aggressively with the city centre, less than three kilometres away. By the early 2000s it occupied the entire block, and the one next to it, and still nothing was done to curtail its growth.
Then 2011 came our earthquakes, and the mall became the de facto CBD.
Now the area is proposed to be designated a Large Town, which simply ratifies that status and forces high rise building onto nearby residential areas.
We need your support to stop this.