Happy National Volunteer Week 2019! ๐๐๐ป๐
We wanted to say a big THANK YOU to the 18,000+ 'busy bees' (volunteers) who help run Neighbourhood Support in our communities across the country. We wouldn't be able to do what we do without your generous support.
#NSNZgetinvolved
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Amberleyโs new coastal defence delayed
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Efforts to protect a Canterbury beach community from the sea have been delayed a month, as resource conditions are met.
Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie last month said work to build a $750,000 coastal bund to protect the Amberley Beach village would be completed before Christmas.
But with the festive season fast approaching, the start date has been postponed until January.
Council staff, the Amberley Beach Residentsโ and Ratepayersโ Community Association and contractor Ready Mix Concrete are working to meet consent conditions from Environment Canterbury.
Once work begins, it will take about a month to complete, Mr Dobbie said.
โโGiven the amount of time the work will take, it was felt it was better to delay the project rather than start the work and then stop work for two weeks over Christmas.โโ
A bund is a type of embankment which protects against the sea.
While the residentsโ association looks forward to the work being completed, committee member John Manson rejected suggestions the rising sea level was the problem.
His biggest fear was the increased risk of severe storms leading to six to seven metre waves, due to climate change.
โโThere is a sense of urgency because we have had a three to four year calm period.
โโThe last series of major storms we experienced was during 2020-21.โโ
The new bund will be larger than the existing embankment and will be built into the sand to make it more resilient in a storm, Manson said.
It is being built up to a culvert at a lagoon to the north of the village.
But the residentsโ association would like it built a further 180m to the north to prevent stormy seas causing the lagoon to overflow, which has been allowed in the consent.
Councillor Vanessa McPherson said she is hopeful the council will look at extending the bund, once initial work is completed.
โโThis is one of the most proactive communities I have been involved with and you can see it with what the residents are achieving.
โโIt is such a beautiful place. I love this beach. It has got its own personality. It is wild and it is emotional.โโ
โ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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