Hurunui council seeks funding for storm repair bills
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Hurunui District councillors voted Tuesday to debt fund road repairs caused by storms in July and October.
It will seek funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to meet a bill of $520,000.
Chief operations officer Dan Harris said the damage caused by heavy rain in July and the October 14 wind storm was beyond the capacity of the council’s emergency works fund.
If the criteria can be met, the council would seek $314,000 from Waka Kotahi to help meet costs.
‘‘Many slips and slumps occurred, and remedial action is now required to ensure repeat occurrences are prevented,’’ Harris said.
July’s heavy rain and snow caused widespread disruption, with multiple slips and drainage overflowing,
October’s election day winds caused widespread damage, particular in the southern part of the district around Amberley, including power outages.
Harris said repair works would be completed by the end of May next year.
The council has responded to five major events in the last 18 months, leading to total repair bill of $1.65 million.
Waka Kotahi had agreed to fund $223,000 towards a $430,000 repair bill following a heavy rain event at Lake Sumner in July 2022.
Funding was also being sought for other weather events in February and July last year.
Heavy rain in February incurred a repair bill of $200,000, while erosion at Claverley Road, north of Cheviot, led to a repair bill of $500,000.
Harris said repair bills from weather events were a growing headache throughout the region.
‘‘Roading costs in Canterbury have effectively doubled, so it means we need to find twice the amount of money.
‘‘Costs for road repairs far outweigh anything we have seen before.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.9% Summer
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36.6% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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