Social organisations are pleading to be kept in mind during the central Christchurch rebuild.
The new-look city centre is likely to have far fewer cheap premises because of the loss of old buildings, escalating construction costs, and buy-up of land for the green frame.
Council of Social Services executive officer Sharon Torstonson said many social agencies displaced after the quakes wanted to return to the central city but could not afford to.
Non-profit groups needed a central location to be near services and each other, and so the public could reach them by bus, she said.
The groups were the “vulnerable tenants of the commercial sector” and had to keep accommodation costs down to leave more to spend on services. Continue reading