Ōtautahi / Christchurch Daily Photo

This new building on Victoria Street houses Murray and Co – New Zealand merchant banking firm along with Duncan Cotterill a local law firm.

Victoria Street has been quite ahead of other parts of the central city in its redevelopment. Mainly because it has be unencumbered by central government planning. Though I understood it was vital for the government to take control of Christchurch central redevelopment during our most challenging times, I think it’s time we took control back and dumped some of the blue sky plans for the city. I’m also not a fan of the whole ‘precinct’ idea of segmenting the city into set areas, but then I also appreciate that it’s probably not a situation where we can let the city evolve naturally – as we don’t have the luxury of time. It’s a tough one. But only time will tell how beneficial the two approaches are.