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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Methven and Rakaia residents wanting speed reductions along stretches of their townships will have to wait a little longer.
The changes were awaiting sign-off at the end of last year but the change of Government put the brakes on any progress.
… View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Methven and Rakaia residents wanting speed reductions along stretches of their townships will have to wait a little longer.
The changes were awaiting sign-off at the end of last year but the change of Government put the brakes on any progress.
The Rakaia community has been wanting the reduction for years as traffic volumes have continued to rise, making it increasingly hazardous for locals to get across the highway. In Methven, development has extended to the north and the speed zone hasn’t been moved with it.
Deputy mayor and road safety committee chairperson Liz McMillan said the speed changes were all lined up and ready to go but the “box just hasn’t been ticked”.
New transport minister Simeon Brown contacted all road controlling authorities in December to notify them of his plans to amend the speed limit rules, advising them to stop work on current speed management plans until the new rule was in place.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi updated the Ashburton District road safety co-ordinating committee on Tuesday about how that affected the proposed speed reductions for the Methven and Rakaia townships.
A report submitted to the meeting suggested Rakaia has already been taken off the list for the National Land Transport Plan 21-24 Interim State Highway Speed Management Plan projects due to a recent reprioritisation.
The speed was to be reduced from 100kph down to 60kph past the Ōpuke Thermal Pools, out of Methven on SH77, a reduction from 70kph to 50kph on SH1 through Rakaia, and down to 80kph across the Rakaia River Bridge as well as a 60kph variable zone between the new weigh stations north of the bridge.
The road safety committee plans to contact Minister of Transport Simeon Brown to ask the director of land transport to approve the changes for Methven as soon as possible, McMillan said.
Mayor Neil Brown said the Rakaia speed limits are “more complicated” due to the weigh station, which is scheduled to open later this year.
Rangitata MP James Meager also planned to raise it with the minister’s office “to see what we can do about progressing the speed limit reductions”.
“I’ve always held the view that if local communities want reasonable speed limit changes in their areas, they should be able to do so.”
Methven and Rakaia cases are "sensible changes, supported by the community”, he said.
The introduction of 30kph variable school speed zones on SH77 in Methven and by Ashburton Borough School are also in limbo.
The Government’s planned changes will allow the council to introduce time restrictions to the 30kph school zones that were introduced last year without the need for the expensive electronic variable signs.
Can't make your roses sing? Wanting to know when to start planting your broccoli? We are kicking off our Q&A series with Jo McCarroll in the hot seat answering questions on all things gardening from 9am Friday.
As well as being the author of Vege Patch From Scratch, Jo is also the … View moreCan't make your roses sing? Wanting to know when to start planting your broccoli? We are kicking off our Q&A series with Jo McCarroll in the hot seat answering questions on all things gardening from 9am Friday.
As well as being the author of Vege Patch From Scratch, Jo is also the editor of NZ Gardener magazine and has been for 15 years. She is looking forward to answering your gardening questions.
Whether you're dipping your toe in the soil or have seasoned green fingers, we welcome you to...
↓ Share your question with our gardening guru below... ↓
Today, we celebrate the heroes living right under our roofs, who uplift and empower us every day – the wives, mums, daughters, and nans.
Take a moment to say thank you to these incredible women who shape your lives with their grace and courage.
Don't forget to use NZ Compare to … View moreToday, we celebrate the heroes living right under our roofs, who uplift and empower us every day – the wives, mums, daughters, and nans.
Take a moment to say thank you to these incredible women who shape your lives with their grace and courage.
Don't forget to use NZ Compare to brighten your household bills!
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Courts, pools, turfs, and fields.
It’s all in the EA Networks Centre 30-year draft masterplan.
The Ashburton District Council’s plan is packed full of projects to realise the vision of creating a sports hub around the stadium and aquatic … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Courts, pools, turfs, and fields.
It’s all in the EA Networks Centre 30-year draft masterplan.
The Ashburton District Council’s plan is packed full of projects to realise the vision of creating a sports hub around the stadium and aquatic centre.
Chief executive Hamish Riach said the draft masterplan provides the direction for the future development of and around the stadium but it isn’t set in stone, emphasising the proposed projects may occur in future if and when funding allows.
The plans include a stadium extension, aquatic extension, two multi-use sports fields and two turfs, an additional entrance/exit, additional car parks, walkways, a mini golf course and some playground equipment, as well as the outdoor sand court that is scheduled to be built later this year.
It has been developed through extensive consultation, Riach said.
That included the 2022 play, active recreation and sport strategy, the 2023 utilisation study report, and feedback received from key stakeholders and sport groups.
It also builds on previous masterplan concepts, the most recent being in 2017.
People and facilities group manager Sarah Mosley said the masterplan presents a full picture of how everything could fit on the site “if everything was done at one point in the future”.
“It’s a long-term strategic document to enable projects and project planning to be done well,” Mosley said.
The masterplan doesn’t contain the estimated costs or timelines for all the projects as that is dealt with through the long-term plan process.
“Based on timelines, costings can change significantly,” Mosely said.
The long-term plan sets the timeline and the costings of the projects that are intended to be completed in the 10-year timeframe, she said.
The entrance widening (2024/25), internal building changes (24/25), solar farm (27/28), and stadium extension (2028/31) are all in the draft long-term plan.
The possible $3.1m new outdoor pool is factored into the masterplan, as is an option for an indoor pool extension instead and the provision for hydroslides.
The masterplan will be revisited every three years as part of the long-term plan to determine when projects are progressed, and then get accurate costs, she said.
The draft masterplan had the unanimous support of the councillors to go out for consultation alongside the long-term plan.
Mayor Neil Brown said he felt the masterplan would be well supported but raised concerns about a consultation overload and it getting “overshadowed by the long-term plan”.
It was a judgment call around the timing, Riach said.
“It’s complicated and it’s not perfect.
“It’s the right thing to do given all the circumstances.”
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Banish plastic and add style with painted cane and wicker baskets in your laundry in your favourite Resene colours. Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton’s second bridge remains in the Government’s priorities, but the details for its delivery remain vague.
Prime Minister Chris Luxon and Transport Minister Simeon Brown released the revised draft of the Government Policy Statement on … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton’s second bridge remains in the Government’s priorities, but the details for its delivery remain vague.
Prime Minister Chris Luxon and Transport Minister Simeon Brown released the revised draft of the Government Policy Statement on transport on Monday. The document provides direction for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to develop its next National Land Transport Plan.
The second Ashburton/Hakatere River Bridge is in the draft, but it is light on the details of when it will be built and how it will funded.
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said he was happy to see the bridge retained in the plans as expected, and is eagerly awaiting the next step in the process.
“Ashburton’s second bridge is still in there, the details are not there, as in who is paying, which is the big one.”
Rangitata MP James Meager said the draft document doesn’t commit funding or timeframes as that comes in the National Land Transport Plan from NZTA in September.
“The campaign commitment to begin construction of the bridge in the first term remains on track.
“We’re all itching to get cracking.”
Mayor Brown is too:
“It’s ready to go. All it needs are detailed designs and to go out tender so it can start.”
While the announcement was light on details around Ashburton’s second bridge, a "project of regional significance”, it delivered on a number of the Government’s promises as part of its 100-day plan - the deadline for which ends on Friday.
Roads of National Significance are back with 15 new four-lane roading projects across the country – including the Woodend Bypass but not the stretch of SH1 between Ashburton and Rolleston.
The plans also include the promised $500m pothole fund, which Minister Brown said would be “ring-fenced to resealing, rehabilitation, and drainage maintenance works”.
The government also intends to set up a Road Efficiency Group to focus on road maintenance, standardising maintenance protocols, and reducing spending on temporary traffic management.
There is also $2.3b for public transport services and $2.1b for public transport infrastructure over the next three years.
Mayor Brown also noted the Government is looking at shifting to a 10-year National Land Transport Programme, rather than three years, which would be better timing for council planning.
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Road users to foot the bill
The coalition Government’s revised transport plans have about $20b being spent in the next three years.
To help pay for it all, Minister Brown announced several hikes “to balance the transport budget”.
It has proposed to increase vehicle registration fees by a total of $50 - with increases of $25 per year for the next two years, a fee that hasn’t been increased since 1994.
He is also proposing a fuel tax increase of 12 cents in 2027 - the same amount Labour suggested through gradual increases by mid-2026.
That would be followed by further increases of 6 cents per litre and 4 cents per litre in subsequent years.
Fuel Excise Duty and Road User Charges will not be raised this term but face a similar increase from 2027.
NZTA is also being asked to consider different ways of funding and delivering major transport investments, ensuring they make efficient use of every dollar spent, Minister Brown said.
Please follow our top tips to reduce the risk of mail theft:
✉️ Clear your letterbox in a timely manner
✉️ Put a hold on your mail delivery if you’re going away
✉️ Provide clear delivery instructions for couriers to leave a package safely hidden or secured within your property
… View morePlease follow our top tips to reduce the risk of mail theft:
✉️ Clear your letterbox in a timely manner
✉️ Put a hold on your mail delivery if you’re going away
✉️ Provide clear delivery instructions for couriers to leave a package safely hidden or secured within your property
✉️ Install security cameras and/or security camera messaging near your letterbox or front of property
✉️ Where practical, consider click and collect over delivery
✉️ Send parcels to a work address or ensuring you're home when they arrive
✉️ Contact Police (111 for immediate issues or 105 if it is after the fact) if you see people loitering around vehicles or looking into car windows
✉️ Engage in neighbourhood groups so more people can keep an eye out for suspicious activity
These tips are being shared after a 44-year-old woman will appear in Pukekohe District Court on 28 March charged with theft.
An alleged mail thief in the Pukekohe area has hand-delivered herself into Police, following assistance from the community.
Counties Manukau South Senior Sergeant MJ Riddle says Police were aware of locals discussing a mail theft on social media. A report was made to Police at the time in January and had included enough detail including CCTV footage and a vehicle of interest. Following Police enquiries, the woman has brought herself into the Pukekohe Police Station a few days later.
“This is a great result for the community and a timely reminder to the public to continue reporting any thefts from letterboxes.”
Senior Sergeant Riddle says
“Our community should be able to receive parcels and mail without concern of interference but unfortunately there are people in our communities who take advantage of opportunities to commit thefts from mail boxes and front porches."
“We encourage anyone who has been the victim of dishonesty offending to report it as soon as possible,” she says."
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Wear and tear is starting to show at the Ashburton Events Centre after 16 years in operation, and plans are in place for its revitalisation.
The problem is, the money isn’t.
The event centre opened in 2008 and now needs significant renovations to… View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Wear and tear is starting to show at the Ashburton Events Centre after 16 years in operation, and plans are in place for its revitalisation.
The problem is, the money isn’t.
The event centre opened in 2008 and now needs significant renovations to ensure it remains a state-of-the-art facility for local, national, and international performances.
But since it opened, the Ashburton Performing Arts Theatre Trust has not been setting aside money to fund future purchases of assets - an accounting procedure known as 'funding depreciation'.
The latest audited accounts show an annual depreciation of $143,991, and an accumulated depreciation figure of $2.17m.
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown raised concerns that if the centre’s 15-year-old air conditioning unit failed they wouldn’t have the funds to replace it.
“No-one has been funding the depreciation which has been alerted to over all the time I’ve been on council.
“Council is aware of it but we have still not funded it.”
It will be a consideration in the long-term plan process, he said.
Revitalisation plans, costing an estimated $900,000, include upgrading the speaker system, lighting, technology, and accessibility in the venue.
The trust is requesting the establishment of a capital expenditure account, which will be considered as a long-term plan submission.
The idea is the council would contribute a set amount annually as part of the operational grant to be used for the estimated $182,000 of refurbishments –painting and furnishings.
Outgoing trust chairperson George Brown said the refurbishments would be the most difficult thing to raise money for.
“We felt that maybe we could be asking the council to be helping us with that part of it.
“In effect, it's depreciation. [Depreciation] has never been funded by a council grant and we accepted that, but it does get to the point where we will have to do something over the next five years to get that upgraded.”
The trust, a registered charity, will also be going to the public at large for funding as well as looking at fundraising and grant opportunities, he said.
The upgrades are about future-proofing the centre to maintain it as a modern facility and compete with other venues, centre manager Roger Farr said.
One example is the sound system that “at the moment certainly still works”.
“The issue I see with it is it was second hand when it went in 15-years ago.”
The council grant is $298,860 in the 2023-24 year and the event centre is also asking for a 5% increase to $324,800 in 2024-25, which will also be considered in the long-term plan process.
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Busy six months
The Ashburton Event Centre's six-month report highlighted a continuing trend of increasing use post-Covid, centre manager Roger Farr said.
It had more than 16,500 people through the venue in the July-December 2023 period.
“We are sitting around 75% bums on seats,” Farr said.
Community events made up 62% of the bookings, with 88 in the six months.
By reporter Keiller MacDuff:
Environment Canterbury (ECan) floated one of the largest proposed average rates rises in the country on Wednesday - more than 24% - a day after the Christchurch City Council adopted a draft proposal for a 13% rates rise.
Councils nationwide are proposing … View moreBy reporter Keiller MacDuff:
Environment Canterbury (ECan) floated one of the largest proposed average rates rises in the country on Wednesday - more than 24% - a day after the Christchurch City Council adopted a draft proposal for a 13% rates rise.
Councils nationwide are proposing significant rises as interest rates bite and increasing severe weather calls for more resilience work.
ECan councillors voted 14:2 to adopt the consultation document for its long-term plan (LTP), which outlines the council's activities, services and finances for the next decade, with councillors Clair McKay and Deon Swiggs voting against the recommendation.
The plan will see ECan spend more than $340 million in the first year, a 26% increase on the $270m programme carried out in 2023-24.
The draft says the council gave “strong consideration“ to the financial pressures the community is facing, but previous decisions on flood management and public transport combined with high inflation meant just maintaining current work required a double digit increase.
The actual rating impact will differ depending on location and targeted rates, meaning the increase will be between 13% and 27%.
If the regional council’s preferred options are adopted, a Christchurch city ratepayer with a $820,000 property would pay $750 in the first year of the plan, while a $1.9m rural property in Hurunui faced a $1030 rates bill for 2024-25, and a $4.76m rural Ashburton property would pay $2681 in rates.
Of ECan's three core services - environmental regulation and protection, hazard preparedness and response, and public transport - the latter has the biggest cost.
The council’s preferred public transport option has a $160m price tag for the first year (a total of $542m over three years) and would see the Public Transport Futures programme improvements delivered within seven years, including upping core bus routes to ten minute frequencies or better by 2028, with average wait times of five minutes.
It also includes:
- More direct services to parts of Waimakariri and Selwyn, starting in 2026-27.
- A review of connector and local services by mid-2026, with improvements implemented by 2031.
- An additional Diamond Harbour ferry and refurbishment of the existing ferry.
- Improvements to the network, such as increasing capacity on crowded buses and small tweaks to routes or frequency
- Enhanced safety improvements, increased investment in reliability and the continued replacement of end-of-life diesel buses with new electric buses.
The option also includes funding to “explore opportunities” to improve transport to and from Te Kaha, on demand services in Greater Christchurch, and - long term - looking at asset ownership.
The document notes the region has “historically under-invested in public transport,” leading to low usage, and proposes “considerable investment.” But both the regional council and the auditor, whose report was also tabled, drew attention to the “high level of uncertainty” surrounding the government’s contribution.
The council’s preferred option for environmental regulation and protection would cost $135m for the LTP’s first year, and could sit alongside a targeted rate for additional biodiversity work in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula.
The separate biodiversity rate works out at 72 cents per $100,000 capital value of rateable properties.
ECan’s preferred option for community preparedness and hazard response - $50.5m - includes a targeted rate for Selwyn residents for district-wide flood and river resilience work.
The targeted rate would cost $7.08 per rate paying property in the first year, $10.62 in the second year, and $14.16 in the third year, raising $400,000 in 2026-27.
Most councillors expressed misgivings about the scale of the proposed rise, but backed the document through the consultation process.
McKay accused her fellow councillors of being “tone deaf”, and asked what right the council had “to treat our ratepayers as an ATM machine?”
She criticised the amount of borrowing and said she was “embarrassed to be associated” with the amount council sought.
Swiggs also expressed misgivings about debt funding, and criticised the local government funding model in general.
“Imagine if Wellington had to budget the way we have to,” Swiggs said, commenting on the discrepency in tax take between central and local government,.
On Tuesday, the Christchurch City Council voted 13 to 4 in favour of a draft long-term plan that proposes an average rates increase of 13.24% from June, followed by 7.76% in the following financial year, and 4.67% the year after.
Consultation on ECan’s draft LTP will run from mid-March to mid-April, with hearings scheduled for the end of April and early May. The council is scheduled to deliberate at the end of May with a view to adopt the plan and set rates in late June.
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"What I have harvested from that greenhouse this year, that’s the cleanest crop I have ever grown. No whitefly at all. It’s pretty exciting,” says Anthony Tringham, who grows heirloom tomatoes commercially under the brand Curious Croppers, in Clevedon, Auckland
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3-piece suite
Wood-framed Classic English three piece suite
2 x three seater sofas
1 x armchair
Really comfy
Removable fabric covers are faded / need some attention but ideal for covering with throws or as is for a rumpus room
Wood sliders make the pieces easy to move and don't … View more3-piece suite
Wood-framed Classic English three piece suite
2 x three seater sofas
1 x armchair
Really comfy
Removable fabric covers are faded / need some attention but ideal for covering with throws or as is for a rumpus room
Wood sliders make the pieces easy to move and don't leave carpet-damaging castor-marks
Please collect 25 mins west of Rangiora.
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Miles
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