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By David Hill, local democracy reporter
A community effort is bringing the wellbeing of residents to the fore.
The Waiora Links Community Trust was launched at a lunch at the Woodend Community Centre last week, thanks to the support of the Waimakariri District Council and local community … View moreBy David Hill, local democracy reporter
A community effort is bringing the wellbeing of residents to the fore.
The Waiora Links Community Trust was launched at a lunch at the Woodend Community Centre last week, thanks to the support of the Waimakariri District Council and local community organisations.
The trust aimed to support community wellbeing in the growing Woodend, Ravenswood, Pegasus and Waikuku communities by running free events to help residents to connect.
Chairperson Ronel Stephens said the idea came out of the monthly community cuppa she started at Pegasus five years ago.
A regular 'community cuppa' has been started in Ravenswood and she hoped similar social events will start up in Woodend and Waikuku soon.
‘‘The cuppas have brought out the social needs," she said.
‘‘We want to create other events and we don’t know what they will look like, but they will have a social connection.’’
She said it could be public forums on current issues, get-togethers or, for those who are socially isolated, organising outings or playing board games.
While Stephens provided baking, Rangiora’s Hope Community Trust provided crockery, cutlery and fruit platters, New World Ravenswood sponsored the ham and salads, and Satisfy Food Rescue provided food.
Local caterer Jenny Dodd cooked the lunch and the table arrangements came from local gardens.
Stephens said the idea for the name Waiora Links came from former Waimakariri mayor David Ayers, as the Waiora Stream links with other water ways in the area.
Mayor Dan Gordon congratulated the volunteers for putting it all together.
‘‘It is fantastic. It is a great initiative and it will bring community together. I have known about it from the outset and anything which helps to strengthen community is something I will support.’’
Waimakariri MP and Opposition Mental Health Spokesperson Matt Doocey was invited to launch the new trust.
‘‘Waimakariri is a great place to live, work and play, and it comes down to the people who make the place.
"It is quite exciting that people want to live here, but we don’t necessarily know the people living in your street, so by bringing people together and allowing them to connect helps to improve mental health outcomes and also improves physical health.’’
■ Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
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Ends 21 December 2022
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By David Hill, local democracy reporter
North Canterbury’s Mayors say they will continue to oppose Three Waters reform in its present format, despite the passing of the Water Services Entities Bill.
The Waimakariri, Hurunui and Kaikōura councils have been actively opposed to the proposed … View moreBy David Hill, local democracy reporter
North Canterbury’s Mayors say they will continue to oppose Three Waters reform in its present format, despite the passing of the Water Services Entities Bill.
The Waimakariri, Hurunui and Kaikōura councils have been actively opposed to the proposed reform and are members of the lobby group Communities 4 Local Democracy (C4LD).
Meanwhile, Ngāi Tahu said it looked forward to working with local councils.
Waimakariri mayor and C4LD deputy chairperson Dan Gordon believed it was not too late to change the government’s mind.
He noted Labour had passed the bill on December 8 without the support of any other party in Parliament.
‘‘It is disappointing to see the Labour Party pushing ahead with such unpopular policy and they’re forcing this through alone.
‘‘Everyone agrees there needs to be investment over several decades to upgrade New Zealand’s freshwater, stormwater and waste-water infrastructure and that requires maximum political consensus to deliver policy stability.’’
Gordon said he was disappointed the government had not engaged more closely with councils.
He felt the C4LD alternative of councils working together as regional water authorities with access to central government support could have gained bi-partisan.
‘‘It is mind-boggling this myth that billions of dollars are going to be borrowed for water infrastructure and that this cost will not be felt by the end user.’’
Gordon said C4LD would hold National and Act to their public promise to repeal and replace the legislation, should they be elected next year.
Hurunui mayor and Canterbury Mayoral Forum deputy chairperson Marie Black said it was an ‘‘unsettling time’’ for council staff, who were having to operate business as usual, while change was looming.
‘‘We understand the reasons why there is a need for change and the new regulations.
‘‘We all expect to have good quality water from Kaitaia to Bluff, but that could have been achieved with (the water regulator) Taumata Arowai.
‘‘But at every level there is still a concern. We know where we are heading, but we don’t know the impacts.’’
Kaikōura mayor Craig Mackle said his council would continue to oppose the reforms in their present form.
‘‘We have to be realistic that Government is aggressively pushing its reform programme through before next year’s election and it is very clear to me the Government is not listening to councils.’’
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Lisa Tumahai acknowledged the process had been "long and sometimes contentious".
‘‘Fundamentally we all want the same things, which is safe, sustainable water services delivered fairly, while protecting the environment and allowing for development.’’
Under the legislation, four water entities would be created around the country to manage freshwater, stormwater and waste-water.
Entity D covered Ngāi Tahu’s takiwā, which encompassed most of the South Island, and would be co-governed 22 councils and Ngāi Tahu.
■ Public interest journalism is funded by New Zealand on Air.
From local democracy reporter David Hill:
Work is finally under way on Oxford Area School’s rebuild, more than four years after funding was first announced.
Excitement is building now the board of trustees has approved the detailed design of a new administration, library and science block … View moreFrom local democracy reporter David Hill:
Work is finally under way on Oxford Area School’s rebuild, more than four years after funding was first announced.
Excitement is building now the board of trustees has approved the detailed design of a new administration, library and science block and a new arts, drama and music block for the North Canterbury school.
As fences went up late last month, principal Mike Hart and the senior leadership team were busy moving out of the old administration building, ahead of planned demolition.
“The students are getting really excited. They’ve seen the 3-D renders of the new build and they’re saying ‘it looks really flash and modern’."
The site is set to be cleared by the end of January, before the new build begins.
Hart anticipated a 2024 opening for the new block.
While the $10 million funding announcement in September 2018 caught Hart completely by surprise, he admitted it had been a slow process to get to the building phase.
“It has ended up being more [than $10m] because of the increase in costs.
“It is funded through the ministry and at this point there is no additional funds required from the school.”
The T-shaped building will house offices, a library and community space, and specialist science, food technology and hospitality teaching spaces.
The school will continue with its space theme, in naming the new building Te Waka O Tamarēreti, which encapsulated significant constellations in the night sky including Orion and the Southern Cross.
“We already have the Orion constellation named in our school so we want to see how can get all of those constellations included in our new building,” Hart said.
The reception area will have LED lighting in the ceiling to represent constellations, while the walls will feature a purapura whetu (stars) pattern.
The middle school (years 4 to 8), which opened in 2017, was named Aotahi (Orion), with the different learning hubs named for the different stars.
Once the new block is complete, attention will turn to demolishing the old science block and building a new arts, music and drama block.
A courtyard will be left between the Te Waka O Tamarēreti block and the school’s observatory, which will make the observatory more of a central focus for the school.
“When we have open days we need to take groups over to the observatory, because they can’t see it, so this will make it more visible,” Hart said.
“It is still a strong and significant building within our school and it aligns really strongly with our connection to the night sky.”
The school has received professional development funding from the Ministry of Education and planned to engage Wellington science educators Haritina Mogosanu and Sam Leske next year to help integrate astronomy more into the curriculum, in a joint initiative with View Hill School.
The pair visited the school in September 2018, the same week the $10 million funding was announced, to offer a learning programme for Mars Week with Nasa scientists.
Transform a plain bag into a summery tote with this pretty monstera leaf motif. Whether you use it as a beach bag, shopping bag or grocery bag, this simple stencilled tote is a fun and quick project you can do within an hour using your favourite Resene testpots.
Find out how to create your own… View moreTransform a plain bag into a summery tote with this pretty monstera leaf motif. Whether you use it as a beach bag, shopping bag or grocery bag, this simple stencilled tote is a fun and quick project you can do within an hour using your favourite Resene testpots.
Find out how to create your own.
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By reporter Keiller MacDuff
Residents of a North Canterbury town say a proposed landfill will bring a spike in heavy traffic, impact conservation land and pose a threat to waterways.
Woodstock Quarries Ltd have five resource consent applications before the regional council and one with … View moreBy reporter Keiller MacDuff
Residents of a North Canterbury town say a proposed landfill will bring a spike in heavy traffic, impact conservation land and pose a threat to waterways.
Woodstock Quarries Ltd have five resource consent applications before the regional council and one with Waimakariri District Council (WDC) to expand an existing hard rock quarry and construct a landfill on their site at View Hill.
The landfill, which would have a depth between 5 and 50m up to 14 hectares in total, would accept about 100,000 cubic metres a year of construction and demolition waste including hazardous materials, asbestos, industrial waste and contaminated soil.
The location, about 16km west of Oxford, is an area identified by the district council as an Outstanding Landscape Buffer Area, while other parts of the site are mapped as Land of National Significance and a Site of Special Wildlife Significance by the Department of Conservation (DOC).
The applications, which were first lodged in April last year, were publicly notified on November 12. The submission period closes on Friday.
On Wednesday, the Oxford-Ohoka community board “confirmed their decision to submit in opposition”.
“The Oxford Ohoka area is pristine land close to the foothills of the Southern Alps and the wrong place entirely for a landfill,” board chairperson Thomas Robson said.
He said there had been “significant community opposition” since the resource consents were lodged, but the deadline had caught the community board “off guard”.
“The communication wasn't great between Environment Canterbury and the Waimakariri council, and it’sonly just come to our attention at the start of last week.”
The board’s concerns included the possibility of leaching into groundwater, sediment runoff, the risk of the landfill liner failing, the potential for heavy rainfall, the risk of high winds spreading dust as well as legacy and after care issues, he said.
“What's going to happen after the 100 years, how is the leachate going to be managed once it does start leaching out of the liner and into the aquifers which feed most of the Waimakariri and Christchurch water schemes?”
Oxford resident Lindsay Edwards, who found out about the proposal via a social media post on Sunday, said it was “completely nonsensical” to have a site with “toxic waste, soil contaminants, demolition and refuse” at the Trig Rd location.
He said there were safety and maintenance issues with the increase in heavy traffic, especially with increasing numbers of subdivisions and young families in the area.
The proposed 40 extra truck movements – 20 trucks a day – are on top of the quarry’s existing consent, which allows for 125 heavy vehicle movements and six light vehicle movements each weekday, and 34 heavy vehicle movements and four light vehicles movements on Saturdays.
Edwards was also concerned increasingly severe weather posed further risks citing the Fox River dump disaster in 2018.
“They'll say, we'll meet all the regulatory requirements, but sometimes those regulatory requirements are not good enough any more because the environment is changing. There's potential for disaster further down the track.”
Quarry owner Darryn Shepherd said it was “unfortunate” if people had missed the notification, but those with concerns should read the publicly available documentation.
“All the stuff’s available on the ECan website that will tell you more than I can tell you, in a massive amount of detail.”
The landfill was a logical extension of the quarrying operation, he said.
“It’s the only way to put it back to be how we want it, back to nature.”
He dismissed concerns about increased truck movements, as there was already increased heavy traffic in the area “so I think our 20 trucks ... is not really a lot”.
Shepherd said he was not prepared to attend a public meeting if one was organised.
“Too many people get carried away and heated up. It's not a place for us.”
ECan consents manager Aurora Grant confirmed they had received a request for an extension, which was under consideration.
ECan’s notification recommendation report outlined their concerns with the proposal, she said.
“The applicant now has the opportunity to address these concerns and any others raised in the submissions.”
All RMA notification procedures had been followed, and seven affected parties had been personally notified – mana whenua Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga, and the owners and occupiers of six nearby properties.
She understood the applicant had been in contact with the Department of Conservation, but no submission has been received from them, she said.
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