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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
It’ll be lights, camera, action as the first full council meeting of the year unveils the new council chamber, Hine Paaka, to the public.
The first Ashburton District Council meeting since the shift into Te Whare Whakatere is open to the public … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
It’ll be lights, camera, action as the first full council meeting of the year unveils the new council chamber, Hine Paaka, to the public.
The first Ashburton District Council meeting since the shift into Te Whare Whakatere is open to the public and will have livestreaming resume on Wednesday.
Council democracy and engagement group manager Toni Durham said the new chamber features five-cameras to improve the live-streaming of meetings and show better views of who is speaking.
“We intend to livestream and have all technology working for the first meeting on Wednesday but also encourage the public to come and attend in person if they can,” Durham said.
Having the council chamber located in the heart of Te Whare Whakatere will make it more accessible to the public, being directly off the library, Te Kete Tuhinga, Durham said.
“We are delighted to have already noticed children and families taking an interest in peeking through the windows from Te Kete Tuhinga into Hine Paaka.”
The chamber is accessible on level one, off the spiral staircase in the library, up the performance space stairs, the elevator, or up the main stairs off the front entrance and past the wall of former mayors.
“The new chamber is in the same place the chamber once was in the old county building that previously stood on the site.”
The chamber had a test run of its audio and visual capabilities last week in a long-term plan workshop, to be ready to live-stream the council meeting at 1pm.
The agenda includes considering whether to approve connecting the Fairton water supply to the Ashburton water supply, approving a road name, and discussion of the financial variance report.
The chamber has been named Hine Paaka after the ancient mātai tree that stood watch over the district for hundreds of years near Alford Forest.
The chamber looks out onto the Southern Alps with a viewing deck located in the centre of the metal A-shaped shroud that will adorn the front of the building - once it is reinstated.
“A large pillar that stands from the ground floor, through the chamber, seen just behind the mayor’s chair, on the first floor and into the second floor represents the tree trunk of Hine Paaka.
“Ngāi Tahu master carver Fayne Robinson provided the Māori narrative including carved designs on the ceiling of the chamber to represent the tree leaves of the ancient matai tree.
“The design on the Axminster wool carpet was chosen to represent the branches of Hine Paaka.”
A cultural narrative continues throughout Te Whare Whakatere, with the mesh shroud “designed to partly mimic the grain silos and dairy tanks that dot the district and is a nod to our farming backbone”.
“A lot of thought and time had been taken over the whole building to include aspects that were important to our district,” Durham said.
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Hine Paaka history
Hine Paaka was an ancient mātai (beech) tree that once stood at Alford Forest.
It was a significant landmark to Maori travelling through the district as it could be seen from a great distance away and was named after the wife of Ngāi Tahu chief, Maru, who lived in the late 1600s.
The importance of the tree was also acknowledged by early European settlers in the region, and it was given the name Singletree.
A living giant in 1890, it was a skeleton of its former self by 1930 before it blew over in a storm in 1945.
It was estimated to be anything between 300 and 1000 years old.
A commemorative plaque and a small piece of the tree are embedded in a memorial wall and a new mātai tree nearby on State Highway 72 now marks the spot it once stood.
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These road tyres were on my Pajero when I brought it.
Being into skiing I put all terrain tyres on it in winter 23 to drive up the ski access roads. I had planned to put these back on after the ski season to save the tread on the AT's as they are perfectly warrantable and legal, but I … View moreThese road tyres were on my Pajero when I brought it.
Being into skiing I put all terrain tyres on it in winter 23 to drive up the ski access roads. I had planned to put these back on after the ski season to save the tread on the AT's as they are perfectly warrantable and legal, but I never got around to getting it done. So rather than them sitting around, maybe they are useful to someone else?
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A proposed $200m equestrian centre in Canterbury is working through the consent process, after its first attempt was handed back.
Southern Parallel Equine Centre plans to establish a farming business encompassing a world-class equine centre on 65ha … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A proposed $200m equestrian centre in Canterbury is working through the consent process, after its first attempt was handed back.
Southern Parallel Equine Centre plans to establish a farming business encompassing a world-class equine centre on 65ha of land next to Lake Hood, near Ashburton.
The proposed centre would include stables, training arenas and a veterinary clinic.
Resource consent applications were submitted to the Ashburton District Council and Environment Canterbury (ECan) in November.
An independent commissioner was appointed to consider the Ashburton District Council application and deemed the consent would have limited notification on January 11.
That meant only those identified as being adversely affected - seven properties - could lodge a submission.
The site’s land owners, Graeme and Elizabeth Small, have already submitted written approval as part of the application.
The submissions close on February 9 and any submissions received will be reviewed and, if required, a hearing will be arranged.
Southern Equine project director Catherine Stuart has declined to comment on the active consent process.
The consents lodged with ECan were considered insufficient and returned on December 8, with a new application lodged on December 27.
ECan consent planning manager Aurora Grant said the application had been accepted for processing last week.
“We are currently auditing the proposal and undertaking technical reviews of the documentation provided.
“These assessments will inform whether the proposal will be publicly notified or only affected persons notified, or whether we can make a decision on a non-notified basis.”
Consent is being sought to establish an equine stud with associated facilities, including a selling centre, veterinary clinic, stabling (six stable blocks of 100 stables per block), grazing pasture, training arenas and parking.
It was hoped the consent process could be completed in early 2024 to allow construction to start later in the year, for a planned opening in the second half of 2025.
Stage two is to develop the SPC Life Skills and Education Centre for physically disabled veterans, service personnel, and para-athletes.
The foundation of the project is planned to be completed on a separate site by mid-2026 and will be subject to a separate consent process.
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Ryman Healthcare is pleased to announce it’s been awarded the Wellbeing Tick, a significant milestone marking the company as the first healthcare organisation in New Zealand and Australia to receive this accreditation.
The Wellbeing Tick is a workplace accreditation programme that recognises … View moreRyman Healthcare is pleased to announce it’s been awarded the Wellbeing Tick, a significant milestone marking the company as the first healthcare organisation in New Zealand and Australia to receive this accreditation.
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Police are urging the parents of school children to talk to their kids about the dangers of going to and from school.
Ashburton Senior Sergeant Janine Bowden says locals can expect an increased focus on road safety as school reopen this week.
… View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Police are urging the parents of school children to talk to their kids about the dangers of going to and from school.
Ashburton Senior Sergeant Janine Bowden says locals can expect an increased focus on road safety as school reopen this week.
“It is often a good idea for parents to walk the route to and from school with their children and ensure they know safe places to cross the road and hazards to look out for.
“If parents are taking their children to school, please be mindful of the school drop off and pick up points and adhere to the road rules and signage.”
While parents and caregivers are being encouraged to pass on the road safety tips to students, road safety around schools is a two-way street and motorists also need to be aware, Bowden said.
“Our advice for motorists is to be alert, as children can sometimes be hard to see in and around cars and be mindful that new entrants and younger children can be unpredictable in and around our roads.”
In Mid Canterbury there are 30kph speed limits outside all schools during pick up and drop off times.
At most rural schools it is enforced by an electronic variable sign but around the urban schools, and two rural schools, there are permanent 30kph zones.
“Keep to the 30kph speed limit when passing schools, and 20kph speed limit when passing a stationary school bus,” Bowden said.
“Where appropriate, police will take enforcement action in the form of infringement notices.”
There has been plenty of community discussion around the introduction of the 30kph urban school speed zones.
Councillors raised concerns that the felt they were not being adhered to outside of school hours.
The 30kph limits, introduced in July last year, are set to be reviewed by the council in February after Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said he believed they were not working after just two months.
The council had wanted time-specific school speed zones but the legislation required a permanent speed or electronic variable signs – that cost an estimated $10,000 per sign.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced in December the Government is amending the speed limit rules, including allowing variable speed limits on roads approaching schools during pick-up and drop-off times, rather than permanent reductions.
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Under 1% of speeding tickets issued in the Ashburton District in between July and December were for drivers breaching the 30kph urban school speed zones. Only 13 (0.7%) of the 1744 speeding infringement notices were for drivers exceeding the school speed limits, and all 13 were issued on Walnut Ave.
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
As it nears its tenth anniversary, the public is once again being asked for its views on the EA Networks Centre.
The stadium and aquatic centre was built with a view to becoming a sports hub for the district, but that is yet to eventuate.
A … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
As it nears its tenth anniversary, the public is once again being asked for its views on the EA Networks Centre.
The stadium and aquatic centre was built with a view to becoming a sports hub for the district, but that is yet to eventuate.
A draft masterplan is being finalised and will be ready for public consultation in March, Ashburton District Council people and facilities group manager Sarah Mosley said.
It’s not the first iteration of a masterplan for the site, with the most recent one produced in 2017. That was consulted on through the 2018 long-term plan process, but never actioned.
“The site analysis work contained within the 2017 plan remains current and valuable, but the new plan will be a fresh look as it is based on recent utilisation study findings,” Mosley said.
The masterplan was a flow on from the utilisation study released last year, which looked at how sports groups use the district’s sporting facilities and fields to assist in planning future development projects.
The council owns a large tract of land, around 15 hectares, to the west of the sports centre, which aimed to future proof the site by providing room for the stadium to be extended and space for a variety of outdoor sports.
A $21m stadium extension is being proposed in the long term plan, a potential three court extension that includes a mezzanine, to be built in 2028--31).
A separate project is making some internal layout modifications to provide a studio space that could be used for dance and other activities.
An estimated $22m extension of the EA Network aquatic centre was removed from the plan due to budget constraints.
The 2012 concept plan had the stadium surrounded by a velodrome, hockey turf and the green fields development included a rugby field, cricket oval and bowling green.
The 2017 green fields concept plan had a central stand and changing room surrounded by rugby fields and a softball diamond.
The utilisation study confirmed that during peak hours, after 5pm and during the weekends, demand for indoor courts exceeded the four the centre has.
The facility is deemed too small to hold large scale tournaments and minority sports are finding it difficult to grow their sports due to lack of court space.
The study also highlighted a need for a second hockey turf - due to a need to eventually replace the existing turf and to meet demand.
The report also suggested Argyle Park could be redeveloped to become the
Meanwhile, a campaign to fund a world class velodrome next to the EA Networks Centre never materialised.
One of the project leaders, Donald Sutton, said there was “no appetite” from the council to help fund it and the Tinwald Velodrome Trust was now looking to use its funds to invest in the Tinwald Cycling Cub's existing facilities in the future.
“It’s a real shame because Christchurch doesn’t have one and the region is lacking one, and cycling is so strong in Mid-South Canterbury.
“It’s an opportunity missed."
The velodrome plan was hatched in 2008 and gained momentum in 2010 when it was one of the 11 locations that applied to be the home of the Government-funded National Cycling Centre of Excellence.
Sport & Recreation NZ decided in 2011 to put the $7m towards the velodrome being built at Cambridge.
The Tinwald Velodrome Trust kept fundraising and there was momentum for the estimated $7m project to be built next to the EA Networks Centre.
A 2012 concept plan layout even shows the velodrome next the stadium as part of sports hub concept.
When the centre opened in 2015, the velodrome was still being planned as a complementary project and money was still being raised.
It is now unlikely it will ever go ahead, but the trust still has money tucked away to invest in the future, Sutton said.
“Not to say it will be a velodrome. It could just be upgrading what we have got in Tinwald.”
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