CityHeart consultation

A 'place based' approach was used to look at options to bring the following areas to life:

• Garden Place and Civic Square
• Victoria and Ward Street
• Council's Reception Lounge
• The Pedestrian Link between the CBD and Claudelands Event Centre
• I-site Visitor Information Centre
• Opoia Residential Area
• Sonning Carpark
• Land behind ArtsPost

 

• More information on a 'place based approach'

These areas are identified in map below.

This web page covers information about the consultation process including:

• Early communty input
• Enquiry by design process
• Community involvement

Consultation Processes Undertaken for the City Heart Revitalisation Project

Early community input

A series of focus groups were held with community groups from 13 to 15 November 2007. Attendees included businesses/developers, arts interest groups, community interest groups (e.g., disability, education, social services) youth and a sample of resident and retailer groups in the Hamilton East and Opoia residential areas.

The purpose of this initial consultation in November 2007 was to:

• understand stakeholder needs
• ensure the redevelopment project was informed and grounded
• provide input for further development of the concept plans for the City Heart Revitalisation.

These discussions focused on the scope of the project and what it involved, as well as the issues and opportunities relating to each of the focus areas. The information gathered from these meetings provided a valuable steer on the key issues that Council needed to address when embarking on more detailed design.

• Click here to read a summary of these discussions

In addition to this consultation, Council staff took the opportunity to speak directly with people in Garden Place on 9 November 2007, in particular those people using Garden Place during their lunch hour. The following questions were asked:

• For what reason did you come into Garden Place today?
• What do you like about this area? What don't you like?
• How could this area be improved? (e.g. how would you like this area to look in five years time?)

This informal consultation resulted in the return of 81 feedback forms where a number of clear themes regarding people's perceptions of Garden Place emerged.

• Click here to view the key themes that emerged from these meetings

Enquiry by Design Process

In order to determine concept plans for the future city design and development of the city heart, Council ran an Enquiry by Design (EbD) process including an external design team over a four-day period from 20 to 23 November 2007. The design team comprised urban designers, architects, planners, employment specialists and transport engineers. The focus for the design team was to provide pragmatic solutions that address key issues in the city centre rather than a 'start from scratch' approach.

The EbD process was used to bring together major stakeholders (including the public, business owners, property developers and Council staff) at one time and place in order to develop possible urban design and planning solutions to specific, place-based problems. During the EbD process, options were investigated through design, debate, brainstorming and illustrations to reach preferred outcomes. Council's elected members also provided input throughout the EbD process.

On 20 November 2007 key Council staff gave a number of presentations to the design team about various areas pertinent to the City Heart Revitalisation Project. These presentations assisted the design team in formulating initial design concepts. A public presentation was also held in the evening of 20 November (attended by approximately 40 people) that outlined the process and scope of the City Heart Revitalisation Project. Small workshop sessions were conducted in which the public brainstormed ideas about what they wanted to see in various locations in the central city.

Over 100 Hamilton residents participated in the EbD process. Maps, plans and other concept drawings of all of the main focus areas were displayed around Council's Reception Lounge to enable the public and key stakeholders to observe some of the design solutions and provide their feedback.

Two public information sessions were then held on 21 and 22 November 2007. The information that was presented at these workshops detailed all of the main focus areas in the City Heart Revitalisation Project.

Council's elected members also received a briefing on the project as well as a summary on the final day.

A series of bold concepts for the vision of future city design and development were arrived at during the EbD process. The concepts integrate the following areas:

Retail, commercial, employment and residential areas

Traffic, cycle and pedestrian movement

Hamilton's creativity and identity

Urban form and social issues.

Community Involvement

In order to determine what Hamilton's residents thought about the concepts for the revitalisation of the city centre, Council sought feedback from the community on the initial design concepts that emerged during the EBD process. A public presentation was made on 23 January 2008 attended by over 150 people where initial design concepts and their rationale were outlined.

The table below details key dates of the City Heart Revitalisation Project.

29 October 2007	Staff consultation	Staff workshop – identification of key issues in the CBD.
13 to 15 November 2007	Initial targeted consultation	Focus groups with business owners and developers, arts interest groups, community interest groups, youth and a sample of resident and retailer groups.
19 to 23 November 2007	Enquiry by Design (EBD) process	Public presentation outlining EBD process Technical presentations from Council staff to the City Heart Design Team EBD workshops Elected member review and summary presentation.
11 February to 7 March 2008	Public display	Informal public feedback period on City Heart Project: Public display held in Council's reception lounge Public meeting detailing City Heart Revitalisation concepts held on 23 January 2008.
20 March to 22 April 2008	Council's Proposed 2008/09 Annual Plan open for submission	Formal feedback will be received via submissions to Council's Proposed 2008/09 Annual Plan. Information on the City Heart project will be available at Council's City Expo on 29 March 2008
22 April 2008	Council workshop	Discussion and debate between elected members and staff on concepts, costs and programme phasing.
9/10 June 2008	Decisions made on Annual Plan submissions	City Heart Revitalisation report and recommendations considered by Council as part of the 2008/09 Annual Plan decision days.