Pegasus, New Zealand

Pegasus is a new town in the Waimakariri District of Canterbury, New Zealand. Named for the nearby Pegasus Bay, it is adjacent to the town of Woodend and is 25 km north of Christchurch. Once fully constructed, Pegasus will be home to up to 6000 people. The town will have approximately 1700 residential house sites. Retail and office space is located in the centre of the town adjacent to Lake Pegasus

Pegasus
Entrance feature at Pegasus
Pegasus
Coordinates: 43.31439°S 172.697521°E / -43.31439; 172.697521
CountryNew Zealand
RegionCanterbury
Territorial authorityWaimakariri District
Construction began2006
Population
 (June 2020)[1]
 • Total3,360
Time zoneUTC+12 (NZST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)
7612
Area code03
Websitewww.pegasus-town.co.nz

The project was first proposed in 1997 by Southern Capital and was initially developed by Infinity Investment Group of Wanaka. The project ran into financial trouble in late 2012, with the developers going into receivership. Todd Property bought it for an undisclosed sum in December 2012 and undertook infrastructure development to complete the project,[2] selling to the Templeton Group in 2019.

History

The master-planned design of town was the brainchild of businessman Bob Robertson.[3] This was a first for New Zealand, and the initial marketing involved a gala auction event around a scale model of the project.[3]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
2006 33—    
2013 1,050+63.93%
Source: [4]
  • Mid 2006, major earthworks and site contouring began
  • December 2007, discovery of an early pā on the golf course site[5]
  • January 2008, first titles to land in the town were issued
  • September 2008, first residents moved into the town
  • November 2008, showhome village opened
  • December 2009, Pegasus Golf & Sports Club, Lake Pegasus

As at May 2016 over 90% of all Pegasus sections have been titled and sold. Over 950 houses have been completed or are currently under construction and the population is now over 2500.[6]

At the heart of the town, Lake Pegasus has become a venue for regional and national sporting events including national triathlons, dragon boat regattas, dive schools and sailing events.

The community centre opened in August 2017.

In October 2019, Todd Property sold its property interests to Templeton group, a major partner in NZ Prop Co Ltd. (NZPL).[7]

Demographics

In 2013, Pegasus had a population of 1017 residents growing to 2637 in 2018.  The median age of the residents in 2018 was 39 years old. In terms of ethnicity, 90.9% of residents identified as European, 7.8% identified as Maori and 9.6% identified as of Maori descent. The majority of residents were born in New Zealand (69.1%). The majority of residents identified with no religion (53.2%) while a sizeable minority (37.9%) identified as Christian. The majority of residents (53.3%) were in full time employment. The median income was $40,600 with 24.1% earning over $70,000.[8]

In 2018, there were 939 occupied private dwellings and a further 51 unoccupied private dwellings.[8]

Education

Pegasus Bay School is a state co-educational full primary school located on Solander Road, with a roll of 422 students (as of March 2020).[9] The school was formed from the previous Waikuku School, established in 1872,[10] which had outgrown its original Waikuku site. The school relocated to its current site over the two-week term break in April 2014, and was renamed Pegasus Bay School.[11]

For secondary education, the town is zoned for Kaiapoi High School, 13 km away in Kaiapoi. The town was previously also zoned for Rangiora High School, 10 km away in Rangiora, but overcrowding at Rangiora and the need to balance the student population between Rangiora and Kaiapoi led the boundary move to exclude Pegasus, Woodend and Waikuku.

References
  1. "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  2. "Todd Property buys Pegasus Town project". 3 News NZ. 5 December 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  3. Mitchel, Charlie (3 June 2016). "Life in Pegasus, the dream town yet to fly". Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  4. "2013 Census QuickStats about a place: Pegasus". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  5. "Maori pa site unearthed near Chch". ONE News. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  6. Pegasus Town Developers May 2016
  7. Fallon, Virginia (2 October 2019). "Todd Property Group sells Kāpiti Coast airport, major developments in Auckland and Christchurch". Stuff.
  8. "2018 Census place summaries | Stats NZ". stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  9. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  10. "Waikuku". Cyclopedia of New Zealand. New Zealand Electronic Text Collection. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  11. "About our school". Retrieved 25 February 2020.

Sources
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