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From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
He didn’t return from Wellington with bags of cash for Ashburton’s second bridge.
But what Ashburton mayor Neil Brown did get from his whistle-stop bridge promotion visit was an optimistic response that the project has government support – … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
He didn’t return from Wellington with bags of cash for Ashburton’s second bridge.
But what Ashburton mayor Neil Brown did get from his whistle-stop bridge promotion visit was an optimistic response that the project has government support – just not any guaranteed money – yet.
“There is a will there to build the second bridge, because of resilience,” Brown said.
“The only thing we are not clear on is how to fund it."
The meeting with Transport Minister Michael Wood and Waka Kotahi representatives at the Beehive confirmed to Brown the Government is positively engaged in the conversation and thinking about how the proposed $113.6m second bridge can be funded.
The council has already budgeted $7.5m, based on a previous $40m cost estimate, but signalled it will consider a larger contribution if required.
The issue is the gap between what would be Waka Kotahi's minimum 51 per cent contribution ($58m) and the council's current contribution - an approximate $48.2m shortfall.
The minister made it clear to Brown that there is significant pressure on the national land transport programme (NLTP) following Cyclone Gabrielle, which caused significant damage to bridges and roads in the upper North Island.
There are options outside the NLTP, with one being the government's $3 billion infrastructure fund, launched in 2020.
“We’ll all be exploring options or innovative ways to make it happen,’’ Brown said.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
Brown responded to calls from frustrated community members who say repairing local roads is more pressing than a second bridge.
Brown said the only similarity between the two was that they were both influenced by Waka Kotahi subsidies.
“This [proposed second Ashburton bridge] is a major capital infrastructure project for the resilience of the roading network for the whole South Island,'' Brown said.
"[But] the potholes are a maintenance issue within the district, which our maintenance contractors are paid to go and fill.
“We also need more funding for the roads so we can renew more roads so they don’t get potholes.”
Potholes were also not just an Ashburton district problem, but one felt nationwide.
Other community members have also questioned why money for the council's new $56.7m library and civic centre could not be used for the bridge and local road funding instead.
But Brown said they were completely unrelated projects.
“They are two different projects, not even related and if you kept taking from one to put to another, you’d never get anything done.”
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Beautiful 6 seater 'one-of-a-kind', solid, one piece, chunky, macrocarpa dining bench set. This indoor/outdoor table set has been stunningly stained and varnished! This table will not require tying down during a storm. Buyer must collect, assistance of 3 or 4 men needed, very heavy. … View moreBeautiful 6 seater 'one-of-a-kind', solid, one piece, chunky, macrocarpa dining bench set. This indoor/outdoor table set has been stunningly stained and varnished! This table will not require tying down during a storm. Buyer must collect, assistance of 3 or 4 men needed, very heavy. Dimensions: L 2000mm W 1700 H 770
This Sunday we'll be putting our clocks back for the end of daylight saving. Despite the benefits of an extra hour of sun during daylight saving, these clock changes commonly bring disruptions to our households and sleep - some feel that it should be scrapped altogether. What do you think?
… View moreThis Sunday we'll be putting our clocks back for the end of daylight saving. Despite the benefits of an extra hour of sun during daylight saving, these clock changes commonly bring disruptions to our households and sleep - some feel that it should be scrapped altogether. What do you think?
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the We Say You Say column of your local paper.
Neighbourhood Support members across New Zealand are invited to attend a special wellbeing webinar, 'Building Strong Communities', with Farmstrong Ambassador, Sam Whitelock, at 7:30pm on Tuesday April 4th.
For more information and to register, head to www.neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz....… View moreNeighbourhood Support members across New Zealand are invited to attend a special wellbeing webinar, 'Building Strong Communities', with Farmstrong Ambassador, Sam Whitelock, at 7:30pm on Tuesday April 4th.
For more information and to register, head to www.neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz....
Please invite those on your street and in your neighbourhood who might be interested (it's not just for rural folk, although those of you in rural communities might be particularly interested).
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton District Council chief executive Hamish Riach says misleading claims on TV’s investigative show Fair Go could undermine years of recycling progress in Ashburton.
A Fair Go episode pinned Ashburton as one of the worst recyclers in the … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton District Council chief executive Hamish Riach says misleading claims on TV’s investigative show Fair Go could undermine years of recycling progress in Ashburton.
A Fair Go episode pinned Ashburton as one of the worst recyclers in the country, which Riach said was inaccurate.
“I think there has been a real misunderstanding around that story,” Riach said.
Fair Go said at least 80% of Ashburton District’s public recycling was not sorted - and ended up being dumped in landfill.
The implication was that everything that went into recycling bins ended up in landfill, Riach said.
“It’s very disappointing and undermines a lot of effort going into recycling.
“What they (Fair Go) were talking about was the public rubbish bins,’’ he said.
“Because of the amount of incorrect stuff going in those bins all over the country, not just Ashburton, the recycling from the public bins ends up in landfill because they are so contaminated.’’
He said the household [kerbside] recycling “absolutely’’ goes to recycling.
The district kerbside recycling has had issues with contamination but through a three-strike monitoring programme it was below 5%, Riach said.
The Fair Go story had the potential to undo all the progress made in the district’s recycling habits.
“If people believe it’s not worth it, they will just stop doing it.”
Fair Go responded, saying they believed they had made a clear distinction by using “the words public place or public recycling”, as opposed to home or kerbside recycling.
“We would hope that these efforts to make it clear that we are talking about recycling in public places, rather than at home, make our purpose clear as we in no way want to detract from home or kerbside recycling.”
Riach’s concern was that while the programme intended to focus on public bins, “there was an impression left that Ashburton was poor at recycling in general”.
Council infrastructure and open spaces manager, Neil McCann said that, as a snapshot, the 26 recycling bins in public areas in the district produced 600kg of material in February which was dumped in the landfill “due to the significant contamination”.
“This amount is only approximately 0.2% of our total district recycling.”
With no contaminated loads of kerbside recycling in February that means that 99.8% of recycling was recycled.
McCann said the Government funded the public three-bin systems years ago, and many councils installed them “all over the place’’.
“Every council has realised what has been going into the bins is typically half-filled coke bottles with their lids on and things that aren’t washed down like we typically do for kerbside recycling,’’ he said.
“It’s those reasons why they have been contaminated and going into rubbish.”
The council has also been monitoring kerbside recycling bins since August 2020 to combat contamination levels.
When a load of recycling is contaminated and rejected, it costs ratepayers an additional $1000 to be redirected to landfill.
POLYSTYRENE PROBLEM
Of bigger concern for the district’s waste minimisation goals is polystyrene management.
Wastebusters had been taking polystyrene, compacting it, and sending it off to be recycled but that service has recently stopped.
Infrastructure and open spaces group manager, Neil McCann, said the problem was it was much cheaper for commercial properties to chop up polystyrene and put it in with the general waste, than to deal with it properly.
“To do the right thing is going to cost money.”
If the council was going to facilitate better polystyrene practices, the resource recovery park “needs more space and there is a cost associated with that”, McCann said.
The council has a workshop in April to discuss solid waste and recycling.
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Tenders are open for the Tinwald corridor upgrade which will take 12 months to complete once it starts later this year.
But there are already concerns about the disruption it will cause.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is calling for tenders … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Tenders are open for the Tinwald corridor upgrade which will take 12 months to complete once it starts later this year.
But there are already concerns about the disruption it will cause.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is calling for tenders to construct the State Highway 1 improvements through Tinwald that includes an upgraded intersection and traffic lights at the SH1/Lagmhor Rd/Agnes St intersection and adjacent streets, a new rail level crossing and improved pedestrian and cycling facilities.
It is a similar joint Waka Kotahi and Kiwi Rail project to the upgrade at Walnut Ave intersections that was completed in November last year.
That project, which took 18 months to complete, sparked the ire of the community over how long it took.
With construction in Tinwald expected to begin soon after mid- 2023 and take about a year to complete, with the time frame to be finalised in the tender, councillor Richard Wilson raised concerns about the disruption of another “12 months of road cones”.
“At the moment it’s bad enough [with traffic] stopping halfway to Hinds, this could mean we don’t get out of Hinds, so I’m concerned how this upgrade is going to disrupt us,” Wilson said.
There have been previous assurances from Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail that they would work more closely together for this project and that the communication around timings would be much clearer.
Waka Kotahi will be meeting with the council soon to present the final design.
“The meeting isn’t for council endorsement or consultation, instead it is for information, and presents an opportunity to explain the final design and answer questions,” chief executive Hamish Riach said.
The consultation with stakeholders and the community occurred back in 2021 and “there has been ongoing engagement with residents and businesses during the design”.
“During consultation, there were several opposing thoughts and ideas, however, we believe they have followed a reasonable process in consulting with many stakeholders, although it is fair to acknowledge it has taken a long time to get to this point.”
Waka Kotahi's director of regional relationships, James Caygill, said the improvements will make getting on and off SH1 easier at peak times.
Discussing it earlier this week, the district councillors said the best solution to improve traffic flow will be the proposed second bridge.
“Living on that side of town I feel the pain,” councillor Laan Braam said.
“The best option to me to fix it is the second bridge, and the sooner the better.”
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown and Riach are off to Wellington next week to meet with government ministers to further push the case for funding the second bridge.
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Restore antique furniture with Resene Aquaclear.
Find out how with these easy step by step instructions.
Knitted Toys, ideal for Easter gifts.
Will be at the Oxford Craft Market Sunday 2nd April 10am - 2pm.
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Check out the never before seen deals on clothing in our massive winter sale. Genuine direct to you deals.
Every online purchase between now and 31st March is an entry to the comp. Buy once or go mad and make a number or purchases - every one of them is a chance to win. Get clicking and good … View moreCheck out the never before seen deals on clothing in our massive winter sale. Genuine direct to you deals.
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From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The Rakaia Community Association is looking at whether to install CCTV cameras around the town to help with crime prevention chairperson Neil Pluck said.
It has been discussed for a while now he said, but at its recent meeting, the association had… View moreFrom local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The Rakaia Community Association is looking at whether to install CCTV cameras around the town to help with crime prevention chairperson Neil Pluck said.
It has been discussed for a while now he said, but at its recent meeting, the association had a presentation from Rakaia police constable Trevor Gurney, who had sourced a quote for $18,000 to purchase the cameras and place them strategically around the township.
The association has funded a community patrol car for 10 years which Pluck said “has made a huge difference with vandalism and other goings on in the town”.
“We see the cameras as an extension of that in terms of a crime deterrent.
Pluck said the idea is to have at least 10 cameras placed at the main exit and entry points of Rakaia as well as around the town centre, which all feed back to the police station.
It’s not for surveillance he said, but if a crime occurs the cameras can be used to help track and identify offenders.
Due to Rakaia’s central location, sitting at the end of the bridge that is the main route across the Rakaia River, the cameras can pick up on the movements of any stolen vehicles passing through.
“There is a lot of rural theft going on and if they come through Rakaia these cameras will be able to see them.
“Everyone liked the idea of the town doing its bit for crime prevention for the South Island given the town’s unique location to the State Highway 1 bridge”.
He said the committee and those in attendance at the meeting, which included Ashburton mayor Neil Brown and councillor Lynette Lovett, were in favour of the project.
There are further discussions to be had with the community, Pluck said, but he has already had some positive feedback, and even some people offering donations.
Pluck said police had been upfront from the start that they don’t contribute to the camera installation, and while they will benefit from the cameras for crime prevention it will in turn benefit the community.
Brown said the cameras were "a good thing for identifying people who want to do unlawful things".
"The cameras presence can also be a deterrent for stopping unlawful activity, so I support the associtaion in promoting this initiative,' Brown said.
Our 2023 Local Business Hero Awards nomination phase closes on Sunday. Neighbours - you only have a few more days to nominate a favourite local business to give them a chance to win an incredible $10,000 package.
Show your support for your local today by nominating them to be this year's … View moreOur 2023 Local Business Hero Awards nomination phase closes on Sunday. Neighbours - you only have a few more days to nominate a favourite local business to give them a chance to win an incredible $10,000 package.
Show your support for your local today by nominating them to be this year's Prospa Local Business Hero!
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