The Search for Alternative Outdoor Entertainment Venues
An investigation by First PACE Intern Poppy Selby-Page
(PACE: Professional and Community Engagement)
Initiated by and overseen by supervisors Emeritus Professor Christopher Kissling, Anne Dingwall, MA (Hons) and Dr Lynette Hardie Wills (PhD).
This is the first excursion of the CCT to host an Internship project.
Christchurch Civic Trust had a very suitable project that was accepted by UofC PACE Programme and taken up by Poppy Selby-Page during her final semester of her undergraduate degree. The driving factor behind the study was to find additional venues that could take pressure off Hagley Park.
We had Board member support and expertise to be able to supervise this venture, and probably other CCT members could have been seconded to the advisory team.
We saw this exercise as a valuable contribution to expanding understanding of the Christchurch outdoor entertainment sector and its needs for additional venues.
We did not attempt to conduct a comprehensive business case analysis for the various venues identified in Poppy’s report. Only 70 hours total could be applied to this project. Business case analysis could be left to other experts to explore.
This report by Poppy is not something that is final and just a student exercise. It exposes the problem of insufficient outdoor entertainment venues capable of hosting very large scale events. As such, it is a starting position begging others to follow up and move as necessary to supply the need for these additional spaces.
One of the objectives of the PACE programme is to enable students to obtain experience tackling real problems and in so doing showcasing their skills and enthusiasm to prospective employers. That desirable outcome is sufficient reason for CCT taking on the internship and making possible this public meeting at which Poppy’s potential can be appreciated.
The Hagley Park Management Plan (HPMP) is of fundamental importance to Christchurch, and it serves as the trigger for Poppy’s Study.
– It would not have been possible without your guidance. Thank you to the Christchurch Civic Trust for choosing to participate in the PACE programme and agreeing to take on an intern.