The Influencers Column: Leeann Watson

Christchurch has been presented with a unique opportunity to redevelop itself. While that comes with a price tag, we should ensure we deliver an experience and standard of living that reflects the fact that we are New Zealand’s second largest city.
We need to create a city that attracts the best talent and businesses who will invest and contribute to our economy; a city that draws visitors from across the world to experience end explore our unique offering; and a city that provides its residents with rich cultural, social, sporting and commercial activity.
We’re starting to see businesses base themselves here in Christchurch – let’s make it easy for them to succeed, enable them to achieve the very best outcomes they can and attract and keep the talent they need to succeed.
One such business said recently, “Christchurch really stood out when we were evaluating locations as it not only met all of our requirements, but had the added bonus of a thriving and collaborative technology and startup community… It’s inspiring to see the amazing transformation that the city is undertaking and it is obvious that Christchurch is a city on the rise.”
Let’s make sure we deliver on these expectations and start talking about what we expect from the second largest city in New Zealand.
We’ll need to be creative about how we pay for the new city and prioritise the things most likely to deliver the positive experience for residents, businesses and visitors. But let’s make sure we have the discussion. We can’t afford not to.