Tuesday 10 July 2012

Measurable signs of economic activity gathering momentum


We  are seeing some measurable signs of economic activity gathering momentum in Christchurch. Canterbury’s spending out paced the rest of New Zealand from June 2011 to June 2012 with a 6.8% increase, compared to the national average of 5.1%

It has grown off a relatively low post earthquake base but the rate of spend is impressive and we expect it to continue.

We are also seeing a big increase in Canterbury based job listings on TradeMe with a phenomenal 49% increase in listings year on year. The pace of housing repairs continues to gather momentum and the very visible work on City streets, repairing and replacing infrastructure is quite obvious. Of course there are still frustrations with housing rebuilds and  houses requiring major repairs, but remember we are just at the beginning of the recovery phase so these economic indicators are going to continue to increase.

We should also be excited by the pending announcement from CCDU due out in lateJuly. CERA have been preparing a Recovery Plan for the Central City. The blueprint team lead by BoffMiskell and the CCDU unit have had 100 days to build on the CCC's work and this plan has the potential to re-energise the city. In harmony with this announcement, we are hoping to identify companies who will make a commitment to return to the Central City. The commitment to returning is more important that the timing of the return. If you are committed to go back into the Central City please let me know via email at petert@cecc.org.nz. This is a critical moment in the regions rebuild and there will be a huge media interest. We want momentum to be seen to be building and are working on ideas to profile companies committed to being part of the Central City rebuild.


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