No pain, no gain: Six-month $5.6m upgrade to reshape New Brighton’s Marine Pde begins this month
Thursday, 13 November 2025
A six-month programme to upgrade the road and pipes by one of Christchurch’s most popular beaches - in the height of summer, to boot - may rile up some visitors, but be worth it in the long run.
At least, that’s the firm belief of New Brighton resident and business owner Esther Perriam, who lives on the stretch of coastal Marine Pde that will be disrupted.
“Look, it’s bloody hard to get a [car] park here in the peak of summer, anyway,” she told The Press on Thursday.
“What we get at the end of the day is just going to be so, so good … we do a lot of comparison to the other side of the estuary, to see what Ferrymead and Sumner, and all those places are getting. What we are getting is what they’ve got [already], and it doesn’t happen overnight.”
The project - work for which begins November 24 and is expected to end June 2026 - was estimated to cost $5.6 million and would be funded by the Christchurch Regeneration Acceleration Facility, a central government fund with roots in the earthquake rebuild efforts.
Some $1.6m of the budget was for a two-way cycleway and shared path, and $1m for 185m of new asphalt from Hawke St to 187 Marine Pde. Kerbs and channels will be upgraded, as well as bus stops, and there will be new pedestrian safety features.
The water main between Bowhill Rd and Lonsdale St - found to be an 80-year-old asbestos water main during the design phase of the project, according to a staff memo on Thursday - will be replaced.
The upgrades are intended to create safer, more reliable ways for people to move around. Newly re-elected city councillor Celeste Donovan said it would give more space for the queues of people trying to get into the hot pools, let alone people just trying to move between shops and beach.
“That [the upgrades] means that we can future-proof what is a really busy foreshore,” she said. “It’s the busiest, most popular beach in Christchurch.”
Pedestrian access beach-side was poor, she said, with the current gravel path also proving tricky for wheelchair users and parents with prams.
City council infrastructure general manager Brent Smith said the works followed extensive consultation and the council would do its best to minimise disruption.
That included pausing the project for three weeks over the Christmas and new year period.
“We know the New Brighton community have been looking forward to this renewal project. We also acknowledge the work will cause disruption and we appreciate the patience of the community in the upcoming months.”
Perriam said although some complaints were rolling in on social media, as someone living in the “hot spot” for disruption, she firmly believed there was no time like the present to make New Brighton better.
It had taken several years for the project to get across the line, but Perriam - an executive member of the TIDE New Brighton business association - said extensive public consultation meant the community was getting something it believed in.
The project is the latest in several improvements for the seaside suburb, which some have described as steadily shedding it’s “old, cheap” image in favour of something “more boutique”.
Visitor spending in the seaside suburb grew 12.4%, to $4.6m in the last year, bucking a citywide trend. About the same time, the He Puna Taimoana hot pools alone drewabout 145,000 guests despite a two-month closure for scheduled maintenance.
The city council has added lighting, security cameras and planter boxes to the recently completed Oram Ave walkway linking the mall to Hawke St.
Meanwhile, The Village Green community space is expected to open before Christmas.