Residents in Christchurch suburb plead with council to 'be on the right side of history'
A slice of ratepayer-owned land in a rapidly growing Christchurch suburb will be sold off for social and affordable housing, despite community pleas for the council to keep it.
Christchurch City Council bought land on Quaifes Rd in Halswell to build a stormwater treatment facility. At the time, the council was forced to buy more land than it needed because the owner did not want to sell only a portion of the property.
The council always planned to sell the surplus land (3.67 hectares) to help recoup costs, but the Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton community board wants a third retained for a park or community facility that could be needed in the future.
The council sided with staff, who said the land was not needed for a park or community facility because Halswell’s future was already well catered for within its growth plans.
Council head of facilities, property and planning Bruce Rendall said there were already 77 parks within a 2-kilometre radius of the site and more sports parks were planned for Templeton.
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
🛡️ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you’re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.
Remember, banks will:
❌ Never ask for your banking passwords, PINs, or verification codes
❌ Never need to know your full credit card number – especially the CVC
❌ Never ask you to download software or remotely access your device
❌ Never ask you to purchase gift cards or transfer funds.
If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.
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