Sense of Place Report
Students at the University of Canterbury conducted research into Sense of Place in St Albans. They asked residents where they thought the boundaries lay and how attached they were to St Albans. There were some surprises in the report and the boundaries of the suburb were different to those proposed by CCC or by NZ Post. You can read the full report here: Developing a Sense of Place in St Albans
The St Albans Community Strategy 2013-2023 Update
March 2013
PHASE TWO – GETTING RESIDENTS INVOLVED
Project Mentor
Are you/do you know a person with the skills to support and guide the development of the St Albans Community Strategy. SARA would welcome suggestions from residents to whom we should ask to be our Mentor. Send your ideas to SARA@stalbans.gen.nz
Programme Champion Team
Over the next few months SARA, with the help of Resilience NZ and Volunteering Canterbury, will be developing the Programme Champion Team and require skilled volunteers from the community to fill the positions.
The team will made up of 4 Programme Champions.
Each Champion will head one of the environments, Built, Services, Recreation or Strategic. They will be responsible for making the projects happen. The roles will be ones of support for the project managers through training, resources, reporting, planning and project outcomes.
The team will be resourced by the SARA Management Committee through volunteers, financial capital, knowledge capital etc.
If you are interested in being involved and wish to see successful community driven projects involved in the reshaping of our city please contact SARA@stalbans.gen.nz
More information on the St Albans Community Strategy can be found at http://stalbans.gen.nz/?page_id=4840
PROJECT UPDATES: February 2013
Recreation – Malvern Park Fitness Trial
Aug 2018 Pete has left for warmer lands but has left behind a well developed project plan and the CCC have approved the project. So everything is sitting waiting for another volunteer to lead the construction of the trail. Contact us if you would like to make this happen.
Feb 2013
Project Manager Pete Brady has met with CCC staff responsible for Malvern Park and they were receptive to his proposal. Pete is getting a plan of the project with costings to get the agreement in principal of the project. He has visited parks suggested by the staff to look at track materials and exercise equipment.
Built – Safer Roads and Footpaths. SARA along with the Human Rights Commission and Ruth Jones have been investigating the present state of the footpaths in the St Albans area in particular the issues arising on footpaths outside new commercial buildings.
August 2018: SARA continues to work with the CCC and local residents to have St Albans residents views on the Downstream effects of the Northern Arterial hear and included in the planning.
Avon-Otakaro River Park – a recreation area along the river linking to sister suburbs. Though lacking any actual project team to drive this project as yet, the St Albans Community BBQ Trailer has provided the first link for this project. The Avon-Otakaro Network used it at Travis Wetland on World Wetland day. For more information on the river network see http://www.avonotakaronetwork.co.nz/ If you have an idea on how to make this seemingly unachievable task of linking St Albans to the Avon River happen, why not let the readers of the St Albans News know or bring it along to the monthly St Albans Community discussion.
(It is the author’s understanding that the Avon doesn’t flow through St Albans)
UPDATE Aug 2018
St Albans River of Flowers event has been held at St Albans Stream near ASB Park for the past 3 years.
Services – Community Information
SARA is responsible for the production of the St Albans News and the St Albans Community Website. All residents are welcome to be involved in theses projects by joining the production team or providing information and articles for both.
Contact Belinda @ webspace@stalbans.gen.nz if you would like to be involved in building and maintaining of the website or Dave @ news@stalbans.gen.nz to become involved in the StAN production team.
SARA is responsible for the St Albans Community Discussions and would love to have a volunteer to be responsible for the meeting organization and building the community network. Contact Emma @ SARA@stalbans.gen.nz
Information on the dates and times of the community discussions can be found at http://stalbans.gen.nz/?page_id=1265
SARA and StAN are also plan extra election issues of the newspaper as well as Meet the Candidate Evening during local and national elections to help SA Albans residents become informed on our local candidates. If you have any questions you would like to see put to all the candidates let us know. And if you would like to be involved in producing this issue we need a few more hands on board to make it happen.
Built – Community Facilities
Vodafone have funded SARA $15K to develop the BBQ Trailer further. This includes a reticulating hot water system, electricity and some type of shelter structure – thus making it a portable meeting space that can be utilized all year round. Does anyone have any ideas of how to make the shelter work – we were thinking something on top of the trailer like a pop up camper but it pops out and down to the ground. Anyone know a steel engineer or someone with the creativity and the skills to make this happen?
Strategic – Tram link to central city. This is on the agenda to discuss at March’s community discussion with CCC and ECAN.
UPDATE: Aug 2018. Discussion continues but still looks like a dream.
Strategic – Sustainable Living
Strategic – Better Quality Housing
SARA has been promoting and providing local landlord contacts to Canterbury Energy Action to encourage landlords to use their summer landlord subsidy to insulate rental properties in the area. If you are interested in ensuring St Albans residents are aware of more sustainable methods of living, make yourself known to SARA or if improvements in the quality of housing in St Albans is something that is important to you, come on get up and connect.
Strategic – Develop sense of place. Initial discussion on this project is on the agenda for April’s community discussion.