Growth catalyst for Hurunui plan changes
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
The Hurunui district’s rapid growth could see some changes in this year’s annual plan.
A record number of consents for new houses (197) were issued last year, which has led to a number of capital projects being brought forward, chief executive Hamish Dobbie says.
Council staff were busy preparing the draft 2023-24 annual plan to present to councillors in the coming weeks.
‘‘Our mission focus is the continuation of the (2021-31) long-term plan and keeping rates rises affordable.
‘‘We have pulled a number capital projects forward because of the growth, so it might be a lower capital programme than we signalled.’’
The bulk of Hurunui’s growth has been in Amberley and Hanmer Springs, but there has been growth across the district, mayor Marie Black said.
Last year’s 2022-23 annual plan saw a rates hike of 10.5%, as councillors opted to stick to its commitments in the long-term plan (LTP).
A rates rise of just 4.99% had been signalled in the LTP, but rising inflation and the impact of Covid-19 took its toll.
Capital projects included three waters infrastructure, roading, footpaths and building new public toilets.
Roading was set to feature again, as the council faced the challenge of upgrading roads to be fit for purpose for today’s transport network.
Dobbie said the recent heavy rain had demonstrated the vulnerability of the district’s roads.
The Lake Sumner Road suffered extensive damage.
‘‘The road might only service two or three properties, but for those properties the needs are equal to any other road,’’ he said.
Hurunui received a 52% subsidy from Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, but it was mainly for maintenance.
Emergency funding was also available for severe weather events.
‘‘This is an ongoing problem. We are seeing climate change in action,’’ Dobbie said.
‘‘We are built for 1-in-20 or 1-in-50 year events, but we are seeing a lot more events and often quite localised, so just fixing things all the time is not the way of the future.
‘‘So future funding of local government is so important. At the end of the day we want resilient networks and our communities want resilient networks.’’
■ Public interest journalism funded through New Zealand on Air.
New Year, Same Brain Teasers!
A man was found dead with a cassette recorder in one hand and a gun in the other.
When the police pressed “play,” the tape said, “I can’t go on,” and then there was a gunshot.
Yet, the police knew it was a murder.
How?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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63% Summer
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35.6% Winter
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
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