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164 days ago

Elderly housing rebuilds to cost over $3m

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

The timing of the demolition and rebuild of elderly housing units in Ashburton will be known once the contract is finalised.

BP Construction Limited has been selected as the preferred contractor to demolish and redevelop 16 units at Friendship Lane for the tendered price of $3,073,668 plus GST.

The council’s business support group manager, Leanne Macdonald, said the detail of the timeline for the two stage project, with eight units demolished and rebuilt at a time, is being developed.

“We will be able to share more information about the tender process once the finer details of the contract have been formally agreed by council and BP Construction Limited.

“The Friendship Lane units are of a design that no longer complied with the recent changes in Healthy Homes Legislation and so were a priority to upgrade.”

The remaining units at Friendship Lane comply with legislation and no future work is programmed in the draft long-term plan, Macdonald said.

The $3m project is being funded by a “range of streams”, including external funding, a previous property sale, and loan funding.

There are already nine vacant units at Friendship Lane, clearing the way for stage one to begin, pending funding applications and contract negotiations.

“As we refurbish vacant units in our district, we will work with any existing tenants impacted by this project to be relocated within the timeframe that is yet to be determined.”

The nine units have been vacant for some time, one since August 2021.
The 16 units are part of the council’s 102 elderly housing units, available for people over 65 years of age across six complexes spread throughout Ashburton, Methven, and Rakaia.

A recent property activity report outlined that there are 20 applications on the waiting list, with 10 people wanting single units and 10 requesting double units (three couples and seven individuals). This does not include the seven tenants at Friendship Lane.

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3 hours ago

Head for bed

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Short on space? Why not make a slatted headboard finished in Resene Colorwood Whitewash and incorporate shelves that can be moved into position as a side table between the slats.

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3 hours ago

Here's Friday's Fizzler!

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I can be written, I can be spoken, I can be exposed, I can be broken. What am I?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

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4 days ago

Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?

Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱

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Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
  • 49.2% Yes
    49.2% Complete
  • 48.9% No
    48.9% Complete
  • 1.9% Other - I'll share below
    1.9% Complete
2704 votes