Closed today
Our office is closed today (7th Feb.) for Waitangi Day (observed); we will back in the office as usual from 9am tomorrow.
Ko te tumanako ka pai to hararei. We hope you have a good holiday.
$50 garden centre vouchers!
Our winners this week have won $50 to spend at a local garden centre.
Congratulations to:
Cassie Arauzo from Cockle Bay
Elizabeth Williams from Hillcrest
Luke Shamy from Hornby
Mitchell Hopping from Wallacetown
Get in touch with our helpdesk team here if you're on this list! If you're not a winner, check back next week just in case.
Time running out to replace quake damaged bridge
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
The fate of a replacement Clarence River bridge hangs in the balance, as costs escalate and a sunset clause on funding approaches.
Conversations are continuing with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) over plans to replace the Waiau Toa Clarence River bridge, which was destroyed in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2016, Kaikōura District Council chief executive Will Doughty said.
He said NZTA asked the council to make application for a funding increase and extension to the June 2025 sunset clause, with a response not expected until next month.
‘‘Time keeps going by, but I think by the end of this calendar year we will be in a position to make some key decisions.
‘‘We’ve got to just keep pushing on to try and get an outcome.’’
Doughty said NZTA advised there was ‘‘no certainty’’ the council’s application would be approved.
But the agency had given approval for the council to work towards acquiring the necessary resource consents and land.
NZTA had approved a 95% subsidy to build a new $13.5 million bridge 500 metres upstream from the previous crossing.
But this site faced opposition from Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura due to cultural reasons.
The rūnanga indicated it would support building a new bridge at the original site, which was also preferred by property owners.
The council’s contractor, Contract Structures Ltd, had completed a 50% design for the new bridge at the original site, with its initial cost estimate exceeding the approved budget.
‘‘If any additional funding is needed we will need to look at the local share,’’ Doughty said.
‘‘We have looked at a number of options and we are at an option which has to work, if we want to end up with a bridge.’’
A resource consent still needed to be obtained from Environment Canterbury and the council would likely need to purchase land for a new road.
The Clarence Valley is home to several properties, including forestry blocks, some large hill country properties and Department of Conservation land.
For now access in and out is via Waipapa Road, Wharekiri Stream and a paper road through several properties.
But the Wharekiri Stream is prone to flooding in heavy rain events and can be impassable for up to two weeks.
Access is by four-wheel-drive only.
‘‘It has been a long journey and we are hopefully heading towards a positive outcome,’’ Doughty said.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Kalle
"Sports and travelling run in the family, and that's kind of what's led me to come to New Zealand."
"I grew up in a small town in Finland. My dad was involved with sports all his life, he was a shot putter, discus thrower, powerlifter, we traveled quite a bit when I was a kid. He never mentioned much of the rugby days. He just said he broke both of his shin bones playing rugby, so he said, ‘never play the sport, It's crazy.’
I started playing when I was 18. I played my first cap for the Finnish national team in 2014, we won the Finnish championship with my club. Rugby is not a big thing in Finland.
I moved here to play rugby in 2017. The club that wanted me to come over was Methven Rugby Club. They got me here and they were like, ‘what do you do for work? I’d just finished chef school in Finland. ‘We'll get you a job at Mount Hutt as a chef, you can do that while you play rugby with us.’ I said, ‘Perfect. Yeah, I'm in’.
I've always loved food. My mum was an amazing cook, and still is. When I was studying tourism I worked in some hotels in Finland, and I saw how the chef's worked. I just loved the kitchen vibe and I was like, Yeah, that’d be something I'd love to do.
I've had more of a culinary journey In New Zealand than in Finland. I started at Mount Hutt, after that I worked at The Dubliner in Methven. I worked as a senior pizza chef at Sal’s for maybe six months then worked as chef de partie at Cellar Door. At Eliza's Manor, I worked myself up to a junior sous chef. Then the opportunity came to work my first head chef job at Moon Under Water.
We're privileged to have a busy atmosphere, we can try new things and get a bit creative. There are no TV’s, just come here with your family or with your mates, play board games, to socialise.
I really want to drive the local food and ingredients through the menu. We don't mind spending more for quality ingredients as long as it's supporting New Zealand businesses. We just love to use local. And it's pub food, but I feel like it's elevated.
I play club rugby here for the Christchurch Football Club, the oldest club in New Zealand and I still play regularly for the Finnish national team, whenever they can fly me over to play."
- Kalle
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
Loading…
