Ashburton may attract quake-hit firms

Photo / Geoff Sloan

Ashburton's new business park may become an attractive option for firms wanting to permanently relocate outside of earthquake-damaged Christchurch, says the region's district council.

Brian Lester, chief executive of the Ashburton District Council, said infrastructure in the town, 86km south of Christchurch, had been left undamaged by the February quake.

The first 45ha stage of the 85ha Ashburton Business Estate is ready for companies to build facilities on.

The council-owned, greenfields development on the town's northern fringe features fibre-optic cabling, direct access to State Highway 1 and a strategic position for exporters between the ports at Timaru and Lyttelton.

Lester said the council was also in the process of setting up a railway yard at the estate through relocating KiwiRail's facilities in the centre of the town.

The council has spent $20 million so far on developing the business park, of which two sites have gone unconditional.

"A lot of people [in Christchurch] have sort of thrown their hands up and said 'we've had enough we're moving out of town'," said commercial broker Noel Gilchrist, of Colliers International New Zealand, the sole agent for the estate.

"I think ABE [Ashburton Business Park] will certainly be attractive."

Gilchrist said some Christchurch businesses would also be considering spreading their operations across multiple sites after last month's quake.

A firm might have its manufacturing facilities in Ashburton and other operations in Christchurch, he said.

"People are really starting to think, 'Boy, if an event like this happens again, how do we mitigate the loss and how do we cover our bases so we don't lose our total capacity?"'

Lester said the one-hour drive from Christchurch to Ashburton was not too long to commute.

"But most people move here for work and stay for the lifestyle," he said, adding that the region's GDP growth over the past three years had been about twice the New Zealand average.

Meanwhile, Gilchrist said Colliers International had been working furiously to find new premises in Christchurch for companies forced from buildings by the quake.

Most businesses had been relocated in northwestern fringes of the city, in areas such as Hornby and around the international airport.

"It's been frantic," Gilchrist said.

John Walley, chief executive of the Christchurch-based Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said many manufacturing businesses in the city were returning towards some level of normality.

Some firms in the city may consider relocating as far field as Ashburton, he said, but bigger operations that relied on large work forces based in Christchurch were unlikely to do so.