|
Post by baronbeeza on Feb 22, 2012 17:31:53 GMT 12
I am not sure Wigram is about the earthquake. It was well under-way years ago and if anything I reckon things have slowed down since the quake.
I live nearby, own two houses within a mile of Wigram. I also operated aircraft and ran an aviation business up until the closure. At the moment I am working on a recevership deal of a business that failed as a direct consequence of the closure.
When Don mentioned that the prices have risen.. well no doubt that is the case. But I don't think it is price gouging. The Wigram subdivision programme was at an unusual stage. While Cecil Hills has been developed, under the end of 03 Grass, and I think the areas in the vicinity of 6 and 7 hangars also. The biggest activity in recent months seems to have been earthworks and all over the grassed areas at that. The drainage bunds have taken a year to complete also. I don't think the actual release of sections or houses onto the market has been that noticeable. I am sure the developers would have hoped to have been at a different stage of the development.
What I have seen has been the sudden increase in houses in Lincoln, Prebbleton, Halswell and over behind Hei Hei.
The prices of established houses in these areas had not changed significantly.
I think the graduated conversion of houses to 'Red' may have taken the shock out of it all. Many families have left for other pastures. I heard from Ashburton that there has been a noticeable pick-up there..... people are distant from the quakes but can still commute. No doubt Peter Mac is well placed to comment here.
Going back to my earlier comments about Wigram as an airfield. You only need to compare aerial photos of Hornby, Halswell and Sockburn over the past 40 years to see the story there. Regardless of Ngai Tahu and the Wigram development we were simply about to get squeezed out. I hate to admit it but we did have things too good for possibly a little too long.
Christchurch was going to smother the airfield no matter what. The earthquake may have hastened the development of the surrounding areas but I very much doubt Wigram and Awatea developments have kept up with the pace. Naturally that will change once the current ground preparations are completed.
|
|
|
Post by beagle on Feb 22, 2012 18:33:36 GMT 12
Yes and I have noticed the pace of new houses being built quicken up herein Rolleston. There was a slump a few years back for a while but since the quake developments have finished and building has flourished again almost like it was 5-6 years ago. As I leave to go to work just on sunrise, the concrete trucks seem to be streaming in for yet another pouring. Part of that is that sections can be got for just under 150K and that there was very little damage here at all. A second brand new school, just started aquatic centre, second supermarket, and me living close by means Rolleston is moving a head again as the sign says "Rolleston, Town of the Future"
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 22, 2012 18:46:43 GMT 12
Are they still building that Pegasus township north of Christchurch? Or has that hated due to liquifaction ground?
The Government is buying 600 homes that have to be destroyed in the eastern suburbs. When they are gone it will be empty land I guess. Can they turn that into farming land? Or will it be no good for anything?
|
|
|
Post by gunny on Feb 22, 2012 20:37:06 GMT 12
I am still at a loss, when Sir Henry Wigram gifted this land to N.Z for advancing the knowledge of flight how come it can be sold?? I swear i will not mention King Edward Barracks. Also i was told by a family member a car slid up and over 1 of the berms of a bombstore during a Lady Wigram race is this true? I spent many a wings and wheels there as a guest of my uncle who managed the P.D.L mustangs (4 wheel type not 3 wheel unfortunatly)
|
|
|
Post by agile on Feb 22, 2012 20:46:19 GMT 12
I am not sure Wigram is about the earthquake. It was well under-way years ago and if anything I reckon things have slowed down since the quake. I never said it was. I just commented that the city is currently in need of sections, and Wigram is a place where they are being created. Again, I never said that the sections in Wigram would be affordable. Speaking as someone who bought their first home in 2008, housing in this city was ridiculously unaffordable before the quake (and goodness knows it's far worse in most other NZ cities). As for whether the subdivision is being created by profiteering w***ers, as far as I can tell this country is run by and for such people so it's probably par for the course. All one can hope for is that enough sections come on the market to drive the price down a bit... Pegasus is fine post EQ. From what I heard at the time, they compacted the shit out of the ground out there because it was pretty dodgy ground. I wouldn't want to live there working in Chch, horrid commute from a place which seems very prone to the beasterly easterly wind.
|
|
|
Post by skyhawkdon on Feb 22, 2012 20:48:13 GMT 12
I doubt that as the bomb dump is quite a distance from the runway and there was a fence around the bomb dump which would have stopped the car. A car crashed into a corner of 6 hangar I believe.
|
|
|
Post by baronbeeza on Feb 22, 2012 21:03:28 GMT 12
I was talking to one of the Downer earthworks engineers just the other day. He was telling me that the Wigram airfield sub-division is massive and is even bigger than Pegasus. I am not up with the plans for the airfield as such but I can now see how the land area compares to Hornby. Little wonder big plans are afoot for mall development as well.
I can recall the days when the 'mall' was little more than a quadrangle with a diary and vegetable shop. That industrial complex in the very middle of the photo was never there. My commute from Addington took me through farmland along Waterloo Rd to Islington. So if we think of the 70's and 80' as the heyday of Base Wigram then it was still surrounded by wide open spaces.
A new airfield at Darfield may be the go... then again I have also heard of big plans for Ashburton.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 22, 2012 21:08:40 GMT 12
A car certainly hit the hangar during a race in the early 1990's. I still remember the huge bang but I think the driver was not badly hurt.
Gunny the land donated by Sir Henry is still part of the Museum. He never donated the entire airfield, most of it was purchased in expansions after he was dead.
|
|
|
Post by obiwan27 on Feb 23, 2012 21:01:53 GMT 12
Are they still building that Pegasus township north of Christchurch? Or has that hated due to liquifaction ground? The Government is buying 600 homes that have to be destroyed in the eastern suburbs. When they are gone it will be empty land I guess. Can they turn that into farming land? Or will it be no good for anything? Pegasus is going full steam ahead Dave. It suffered very little/insignificant damage after all the seismic activity. The reason being that all of the land was remediated first as liquefaction was identified as a key risk. Once this was done, the land was ok to build on, so a good result for the developers, home buyers in that development and future buyers. It's certainly a property development in Christchurch that has been done properly. They are currently advertising heavily on the telly down here.
|
|
|
Post by beagle on Feb 23, 2012 21:06:38 GMT 12
Have visited it a few times and was not for me. The streets were narrow and felt like you were like caged birds. I do think a few people will move there though
|
|
|
Post by gunny on Feb 23, 2012 21:11:23 GMT 12
A car certainly hit the hangar during a race in the early 1990's. I still remember the huge bang but I think the driver was not badly hurt. Gunny the land donated by Sir Henry is still part of the Museum. He never donated the entire airfield, most of it was purchased in expansions after he was dead. Oh thanks Dave, that i did not know
|
|
nz104
Pilot Officer
Posts: 54
|
Post by nz104 on Mar 20, 2012 18:29:07 GMT 12
What a waste of a good piece of infrastructure for the canterbury region & the destruction of such an important piece of our country's history.
|
|
|
Post by eieio on Mar 20, 2012 21:45:05 GMT 12
Developers may make money from house sections, They put up millions before a section sells and have to pay the local authority money for this ,that and everything the council can dream up. Have had a small involvement in rural subdivision. I wonder what the Wigram developement cost is?
|
|
|
Post by beagle on Mar 20, 2012 21:57:36 GMT 12
cost us tax payers dearly as was given as a treaty settlement. well thats what i was told
|
|
|
Post by Parrotfish on Mar 20, 2012 22:58:37 GMT 12
cost us tax payers dearly as was given as a treaty settlement. well thats what i was told Wigram was sold to Ngai Tahu under the treaty settlement clause of 'Right of First Refusal' where government owned land that the govt wants to dispose of is offered to Ngai Tahu first at a market rate before anyone else. Ngai Tahu took up the purchase offer for Wigram when offered. If they had not bought then it would have been offered to the market as has been the case with other crown land up for disposal. Cheers
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 20, 2012 23:43:43 GMT 12
However, the Government had already given it to Christchurch City Council before Ngai Tahu bought it.
|
|
|
Post by Parrotfish on Mar 21, 2012 0:54:20 GMT 12
Land was still in the crown land bank. CCC had a lease. At no time did they have ownership. The joint announcement at the time of the crown sale to Ngai Tahu pointed this out.
Issues can be taken with the development conditions that the council allowed or didn't allow (and there are a few), but the sale was transparent.
Cheers.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 21, 2012 10:53:55 GMT 12
Thanks for clearing that up Sean, I was mis-informed on council ownership.
|
|
|
Post by hightower on Mar 23, 2012 20:38:14 GMT 12
Hi all, I'm a long time reader, have made very few posts, but read many with great interest. I took this photo today as we were going into Christchurch of the former base. While I may not have the attachment many of you have to Wigram, my father served 20+ years from the 60's through to the 90's, so I have fond memories of running around the place (and others bases) as a young lad. It sure makes my stomach churn at the sight of it!! At least I managed to log NZWG in my logbook while I was learning to fly. Its not the best photo as we were going into the sun so I'm sorry about the glare. This is my first attempt at uploading a photo so Ive got my fingers crossed that it works.
|
|
|
Post by beagle on Mar 23, 2012 21:32:51 GMT 12
And to think I used to be able to run right around that airfield. Take me all day to walk it now.
|
|