Fairfield Freight Hub on track for early 2024
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The Fairfield Freight Hub will, all going to plan, be operational by April next year.
The $18m project had been scheduled to start groundworks in February but delays in processing the resource consents pushed back the timeline.
Groundworks finally began in June, and it has been steady progress since.
Wareing Group director Mark Wareing held a quick site visit on Wednesday with Ashburton District councillor Rob Mackle, Talley’s Aaron Chudleigh and Rangitata MP Jo Luxton who was instrumental in getting the project going after it was initially turned down.
Wareing is hopeful it will be on track for an early 2024 opening.
“If things go wrong, mainly the weather and Fulton Hogan can’t put the hot mix down until it warms up it will start pushing things back.
“For me, that’s a disaster.”
Luxton was pleased to see the progress.
“It’s taking a bit of time to get to this point but really pleased that we have been able to get this happening and under way.”
KiwiRail is on-site working on upgrading the existing siding and is set for a block of line work at the end of the month, where they will put the new line in, Wareing said.
If the progress falls behind by December, Wareing said they will consider staging the construction to ensure it still becomes operational in April.
“If need be, we may just seal the part next to the line just to get it going but that will add cost as it means sealing it in two stages.
“If we are behind by Christmas, we’ll have that discussion.
“At this stage, everything is on track.”
That means the historic shunting yards in central Ashburton will shift north in early 2024 to the freight hub, which is being constructed on the Talley’s-owned site of the former Fairton freezing works.
Since works began, Wareing has noticed an increase in traffic past the site due to “a lot of community interest in the project". He said the benefits to the community from it would be long term.
The project is a tri-party commercial development led by the Wareing Group (which wholly owns Fairfield Freight Hub Ltd) with KiwiRail and the Ashburton District Council.
The project received $2.5m from the Government’s NZ Upgrade fund.
The council’s $2.3m contribution ended up being part of its $4.19 million in the Three Waters 'better off' funding.
⚠️ 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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62.2% Summer
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36.3% 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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