Poll: Would you want an unconventional funeral?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Funerals can cost as much as $22,000 and the planning can be stressful especially at a time when loved ones are grieving. Some New Zealanders are re-imagining funerals by making their own coffin or having a relaxed ceremony at home. Would you want a less traditional funeral? Share your thoughts below.

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Would you want an unconventional funeral?

• Yes
• No
• Other - I'll share below!

Vote View Results

• 84.3% Yes
  84.3% Complete
• 13.8% No
  13.8% Complete
• 1.9% Other - I'll share below!
  1.9% Complete

1639 votes

Seal of approval for bike skills park concept

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

Road, off-road, and even a rail crossing - a new bike park in the Ashburton Domain wants to have it all.

The concept plans for the learn-to-ride cycling facility were approved by the Ashburton District Council on Wednesday.

The construction of the bike skills park will be paid for by the local service clubs and community organisations driving the project.

The Bike Skills Park Working Group, a combination of the clubs, organisations, and council representatives, produced the concept design that has three separate but interconnected areas.

Group spokesperson Walter van der Kley said it will be a great asset for the community.

“We have good community support for the project.”

The council approved the domain as the location, incorporating the existing pump track, in July last year.

The pump track will be reformed in roughly the same location but slightly larger and will include an elevated lookout and seating area.

A flat street circuit, a 3m wide asphalt ‘road’ with line marking to enable two-way traffic, will feature a range of road signs and crossings reflecting common Ashburton traffic features – including a rail crossing.

A train track will lead to a train station shelter, with the plan to incorporate a handcar or jigger that can move out from the shelter and across the street.

"Half the children in Ashburton cross the rail line to go to school," van der Kley said.

There will also be an off-road woodland trail circuit, located around the existing trees, connecting to the street circuit over a cattlestop – “a lesson that needs to be taught”, van der Kley said.

A footpath will link to a central picnic and viewing area.

There is some room to scale some things back and construction won’t start until the project is fully funded, van der Kley said.

The report to the council stated the design is estimated to cost around $454,000 to build and the working group is optimistic about raising that amount, van der Kley said.

Now the concept design has council approval, the group will begin working on obtaining resource consent, consulting the public on the plans, and then the detailed design – which will include a second cost estimate.

The construction of the park will be covered by the local organisations and groups but once it is built and vested to the council.

Open spaces manager Ian Soper said the estimated maintenance costs, based on the worst-case scenario, will be in the vicinity of $650,000 over 30 years, or about $21,744 a year.

The maintenance includes keeping the paths and tracks free of weeds and debris, repainting the line markings every five years, and maintaining the structures, and keeping other items such as signs, level crossing lights and traffic lights in working order.

An annual vandalism cost of $5000 was also factored into the figures, Soper said.

*LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air

Methven native bird sanctuary makes progress on pests and permission

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

A group wanting to create a native bird sanctuary in Methven will be ready to go as soon as they have access to the proposed land.

The Methven Birdsong Initiative is a two-phase project that is making steady progress on both fronts, spokesperson Mac McElwain said.

“I’m a bit impatient so things can never happen quickly enough but it’s not going to happen overnight.

“The whole thing has really picked up some momentum.”

The Methven Lions launched the project at the end of last year and already the trap library is building financial backing to begin removing predators from the area.

Discussions about the permission to use the proposed site are also advancing.

The vision is to create a native habitat on the vacant council-owned land behind the Garden of Harmony – an area of council land already turned into a planted area with walkways.

The Birdsong Initiative is waiting on the “statutory ducks to be in a row” before they can make a start, McElwain said.

The Methven Community Board and the Ashburton District Council are working on the birdsong initiative’s request for access to the land.

A report to the community board stated one of the leaseholders has agreed to temporary access for construction of the project and another has said they would surrender their lease in April 2025, as they have stock on the property.

Discussions are still to be held with the third lessee.

If they are granted access to the site, the birdsong initiative will be ready to make a start, McElwain said.

Earlier this year the community board granted $10,000 to help establish the trap library that will help households to trap pests and predators in their backyards.

They also went to the Ashburton Water Zone Committee seeking funding and received $7306 to go towards planting the site.

The group also sought funding towards the trap library but it was suggested they could work with the Staveley Camp Forest community possum trap library which received $15,000 from the water zone earlier this year.

“The only barrier between the two trap libraries working together is distance,” Mcelwain said.

It was raised at the water zone committee meeting that there have been a number of trapping projects funded over the years and it could be a worthwhile exercise to see if those projects were still using the traps or if they could be redistributed.