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From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
One councillor believes he doesn’t need a designated time slot to engage with the public, saying he is always available for a chat.
Leen Braam is the only councillor who has declined to take part in a four-month trial of Talk It Up Tuesday’s … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
One councillor believes he doesn’t need a designated time slot to engage with the public, saying he is always available for a chat.
Leen Braam is the only councillor who has declined to take part in a four-month trial of Talk It Up Tuesday’s councillor chats at the Ashburton Library.
“The way I operate outside of council's chambers, I get plenty of people asking me questions and wanting to know what’s going on,” Braam said.
“People stop me and ask me questions, and that’s the way I operate which seems to work for me.”
With a tall frame and prominent moustache, Braam is an easily distinguishable figure, and whenever he is out and about he is approached by members of the public raising concerns and asking questions, “which is part of the job”, he said.
It’s good the council is searching for ways to increase engagement with the community, he said, but rather than wait somewhere he would "rather talk to people on the street”
“People know me, my phone number, they see me and that’s how I work and that’s the best way for me to explain to people what’s going on.”
Democracy and engagement group manager Toni Durham said every councillor was offered the opportunity to take part in the councillor chats.
“The elected members independently juggle their attendance themselves around their personal availability.
“There are a handful of people each Tuesday that have come in to meet with councillors.”
At the end of the four months, ending in August, it will be reviewed, Durham said.
The drop-in sessions are about hearing people’s thoughts on decisions, projects, or issues, Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said.
So far it has had “varying success".
“The daytime sessions seem to have people popping in and seizing the opportunity to talk to a councillor about whatever.
“The evening sessions haven’t been as popular.”
The review will consider continuing with the sessions or altering the time, day place they are held, or if some other avenue, such as a live online session, is an option worth trying, Brown said.
Since the sessions started there have been several items raised at council meetings stemming from the Tuesday chats.
While the sessions are not directly focussed on anything in particular at present, the council is starting to work on the development of the 2024-34 long-term plan, which will take place over the next 12 months.
Transform assorted old brown cane furniture into Cape Cod classics using sandy-toned Resene neutrals and restrained blue accents.
Find out how to transform your own with this handy advice.
To all Business Owners, Neighbourly is here to help you keep connected with your neighbours, we’re offering Neighbourly Premium Business Listings FREE for three months.
You’ll feature in the local business directory and be able to post out to your surrounding suburbs once per week
… View moreTo all Business Owners, Neighbourly is here to help you keep connected with your neighbours, we’re offering Neighbourly Premium Business Listings FREE for three months.
You’ll feature in the local business directory and be able to post out to your surrounding suburbs once per week
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Still lots of time to start creating an entry for our North Canterbury Wearable Arts Show being held in Rangiora on Saturday 9th September.
Check out our facebook page and please email northcanterburywearablearts@gmail.com for further info on categories etc.
Sir Tim Shadbolt drew some criticism after suggesting a statue be erected in his town for his long-standing mayorship in Invercargill. This week is National Volunteer Week, a time to reflect on those who have given their time selflessly to your community and made a difference. So, which local do … View moreSir Tim Shadbolt drew some criticism after suggesting a statue be erected in his town for his long-standing mayorship in Invercargill. This week is National Volunteer Week, a time to reflect on those who have given their time selflessly to your community and made a difference. So, which local do you think deserves recognition? Tell us why!
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the We Say You Say column of your local paper.
A big thank you to everyone who nominated a small business in this year's Prospa Local Business Hero awards - and who got behind our 11 regional finalists and voted.
And a huge congratulations to Meg Wilson - the founder of PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Shops) across South Waikato! Meg's … View moreA big thank you to everyone who nominated a small business in this year's Prospa Local Business Hero awards - and who got behind our 11 regional finalists and voted.
And a huge congratulations to Meg Wilson - the founder of PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Shops) across South Waikato! Meg's passion for pets received almost 20% of votes which has seen her walk away with a prize package worth $10,000 to support the work she and her team of volunteers do each day.
Thank you Neighbourly members for rallying around businesses in your community and continuing to show them how valued they are!
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Timaru's mayor believes his town's model of public transport could work well in Ashburton.
Canterbury Mayoral Forum chairperson and Timaru mayor Nigel Bowen made the trip north to talk forum business at a recent Ashburton District … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Timaru's mayor believes his town's model of public transport could work well in Ashburton.
Canterbury Mayoral Forum chairperson and Timaru mayor Nigel Bowen made the trip north to talk forum business at a recent Ashburton District Council meeting, only to be quizzed on public transport.
Bowen was asked about how the MyWay trial of on-demand buses has fared in Timaru.
“It’s absolutely amazing. The challenge with it is it has a higher cost,” he told them.
“It’s so successful that everyone wants to pick it up across the country, and it's going to add a cost from the national funding but also the local rates funding.
“It’s a great model and if you had something similar here I’m sure it would be well picked up.”
The grilling of Bowen on public transport followed a recent council discussion around the growing demand for public transport in Ashburton.
A lack of public transport has been identified as a major barrier for youth, migrants, and the elderly. Whether the council has a desire to fund it could be part of the upcoming long-term plan (LTP) conversations.
The council has asked Environment Canterbury (ECan) to consider public transport options, Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said.
But he warned evidence shows public transport requires significant ratepayer subsidy.
“I requested they work with us on investigating and seeing if there is a need for public transport – of what description I don’t know – in Ashburton town, so we have planted that seed.”
The regional council is “open-minded and happy to facilitate it”, ECan councillor Ian Mackenzie said.
“When they come to us saying this is what we would like, ECan would go back with the costs and funding models.”
Brown said whatever option the district comes up with there will need to be “some innovative ways of how it would work and how it would be funded”.
“What Christchurch has is not going to work here and what Timaru has down there is probably not going to work here,” Brown said.
“It needs to be some real thought and discussion around it and that’s what we have asked to have with Ecan.”
Councillor Carolyn Cameron had raised the issue of a lack of public transportation impacting migrant communities, the elderly, and youth in Ashburton as a big concern.
“I don’t know what the answer is to that but I think it is something we do need to address,” Cameron said.
It is not the first time it has been raised, as councillor Lynette Lovett said the issue pops up every year.
Lovett proposed looking at a localised option, seeking a local transport company to get a mini-bus and do a trial, but also questioned “is it worth us doing something in this space.”
Any option will require ratepayer subsidy, Brown said.
“The one thing we do know is it will not sustain itself,” he said.
Neither ECan nor the council have money budgeted for anything to be trialled so public transport in Ashburton continues to be a conversation with ECan, chief executive Hamish Riach said.
“There is no trial to run with the public sector without a financial contribution from somewhere, that’s how public transport works.
“Until there is a desire for a public contribution financially it will continue not to happen”.
What’s it going to cost?
The annual operating cost of the MyWay on-demand service in Timaru is $2.7m, which is made up of $1.1m from rates, $1.3m from Waka Kotahi grants, and $0.25m from fare revenue.
On top of that is the additional costs for supporting services such as IT systems, marketing, and contract management, an ECan spokesperson said.
Ashburton had requested to be part of the MyWay trial but ECan wanted to undertake the trial in a bigger urban centre that already had public transport.
“Our intention was always to trial the service in Timaru first, however, disruptions due to Covid have made analysis challenging. We will continue to monitor and assess the Timaru trial before we consider similar services elsewhere,” a spokesperson said.
ECan operates public transport in the region, with bus routes centred around greater Christchurch and in Timaru – which has the MyWay bus trial, and properties in those zones are rated for the service.
Figures in ECan’s annual plan 2023-24 show that the public transport contribution from rates is around $48m – as well as $54.1m from Waka Kotahi and fare revenue is forecast to be $10.2m
Without a public transport service, Ashburton District ratepayers do not contribute.
Mid Canterbury’s only form of public transport is the Mid Canterbury connector service.
Run by the Community Vehicle Trust network, it is a volunteer-driven vehicle linking rural locations like Methven and Rakaia to each other and Ashburton for a small fee.
Our June Seniors newsletter is out today. In this issue, we focus on the cost of living. We share some practical advice on how to save money on your health, home and everyday expenses plus much more.
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You nominated your most-loved locals - now it’s time to vote! We’ve managed to whittle down over a thousand nominations into regional finalists, so we need to know who deserves to win. Regional winners will go into the running for national titles, as judged by a panel led by Peter Gordon, so … View moreYou nominated your most-loved locals - now it’s time to vote! We’ve managed to whittle down over a thousand nominations into regional finalists, so we need to know who deserves to win. Regional winners will go into the running for national titles, as judged by a panel led by Peter Gordon, so make sure to get your votes in.
Head to stuff.co.nz/loveyourlocal to cast your votes, and go into the draw to win a Restaurant Association voucher.
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A business owner is calling the introduction of parking restrictions in the Methven mall a compromise.
The Methven Community Board is passing a recommendation to the council to introduce five 30-minute time-restricted car parks in the town's… View moreFrom local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A business owner is calling the introduction of parking restrictions in the Methven mall a compromise.
The Methven Community Board is passing a recommendation to the council to introduce five 30-minute time-restricted car parks in the town's retail centre.
The consultation had proposed introducing a one-hour parking restriction for 10 of the 15 parks, but as there was no clear consensus, the board was presented with the revised recommendation.
The Salt House owner Cherie Summers-Wight said "it’s a compromise”.
“It’s good that it’s only five and maybe 15 minutes would have been better."
Several businesses were unaware there was even a major problem until the consultation papers were delivered, Summers-Wight said.
Methven Supervalue requested the introduction of time-restricted parking as it felt that at times there was a shortage of parks available for customers, due to some vehicles parking for extended periods.
The supermarket had installed its own unapproved parking restriction signs but was asked to remove them, instigating conversations around restricted parking in the mall.
It declined to comment on the board’s recommendation.
The board approved a consultation process with affected businesses in the mall, which had 14 responses.
During the consultation, Summers-Wight helped organise a meeting between the business owners and attended by members of the board, to discuss the situation, hoping that would be enough to solve the issue.
There was no clear agreement in the consultation, with five respondents wanting the status quo, five wanting an alternative, and two supporting the 10 one-hour parks.
Several submissions pointed to the fact that most of the businesses in the mall offer services that require customer parking for longer than an hour.
There was also some conjecture over the reference to ‘angled parks’, which council’s environmental monitoring manager Rick Catchpowle said referred to the right-angled parks, to distinguish them from the parallel parks in the mall.
The result of the consultation was a revised configuration, which the board supported.
The recommendation will go before the council later this month and if adopted, signage will be installed.
Dear neighbours, every month, NZ Gardener runs a series of reader recipes using a seasonal crop. This month, we're on the hunt for cauliflower recipes! Send your best ones to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz by June 25, 2023. Every published recipe wins a copy of the August issue of NZ Gardener.
Reinvent an old picnic basket into a snazzy new sewing case with fresh Resene colours.
Find out how to revamp your own with our handy advice.
June is upon us, so it's well and truly time to hunker down for the colder temperatures. For some across Aotearoa, this just means a second duvet on the bed. And for others, it's defrosting your car windscreen daily and bringing out the heaters.
What do you do to prepare for winter? … View moreJune is upon us, so it's well and truly time to hunker down for the colder temperatures. For some across Aotearoa, this just means a second duvet on the bed. And for others, it's defrosting your car windscreen daily and bringing out the heaters.
What do you do to prepare for winter? Share your tips for staying warm and dry, and for making the most of the chillier season.
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the We Say You Say column of your local paper.
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