Dr Megan Woods: The Influencers

It was exciting to see in November that drilling is now underway at the Canterbury Arena site as part of early work to fast-track the project. Geotechnical investigations began in mid-November to determine the condition of the land as part of the Investment Case being prepared for the Arena. In total, 81 separate tests will be undertaken to give detailed information across the entire site.

The information will allow the Investment Case to consider the most favourable areas for construction, assess options for the arena layout, develop conceptual designs for the form of the arena and its foundations, and evaluate any uncertainties related to the ground conditions.

Early work will ensure we have the best information right from the start to feed-in to the design process. We know that similar ground conditions exist across the city, from other work already underway. These tests will help fill in the gaps and provide robust information for the planning process.

We’ll be discussing the findings of this early work as part of ongoing workshops and forums with key community and interest groups to ensure we get an arena that meets the needs of our region.

This fulfils our promise to get the project moving and to speed up the recovery in the central city. The message we received from people who attended our arena workshop in October was to get started. We heard this call, which is why we’re cracking on with the work needed to get the site ready and get the Investment Case fit for purpose.