When Leianne O’Brien’s home in Burwood was red-zoned following the Canterbury earthquakes she knew two things: she wanted to remain on the east side of Christchurch and on the city side of the Waimakariri River.

The answer was closer than she dared hope – just down the road in the new Prestons subdivision.

At a CERA-run expo in 2011 Leianne, who is of Ngāi Tahu descent, put her name down on a Ngāi Tahu Property register of interest and subsequently became the first purchaser within the new subdivision. [Read more…]