Residents plead with council to resolve long-term flooding issues
Brooklands and Spencerville residents are exhausted and fed up worrying about the threat of regular flooding and are pleading with the Christchurch City Council to do something about it.
A petition, signed by 159 residents of the two settlements on the city’s northern outskirts, was presented to the council on Thursday.
The residents want the council to build a stop bank around the lagoon to prevent flooding of their properties.
Community leader Amanda Neil told the council, residents were exhausted trying to maintain their resilience.
“They are worried and anxious every time the rain starts and all the more so when it continues all day and night.
”They are desperately concerned for their family’s safety and their homes which are constantly under threat of damage and further devaluation.
”They lose far too much sleep which can severely and sadly affect their mental health.”
A large part of Brooklands was red-zoned after the 2011 quake, but not all of it.
Brooklands and Spencerville were prone to flooding because they were low-lying and nestled between the Styx River and the Brooklands Lagoon, which feed into the mouth of the Waimakariri River.
Neil has been trying to get the council’s attention since being evacuated from her Brooklands home by local fire crews during a 2017 storm.
Flooding caused her outdoor power box to explode, setting a hedge on fire.
“If we continue to try living in denial, we will end up trying to live in de-Waimak.”
Neil urged the council to spend the money needed to build the stop bank.
“Hardly anyone believes any more that any help will come.”
Another resident Jan Burney urged the council to end the uncertainty and to consult with the people.
She appealed to the council to address earthquake damage, sea-level rise and climate changes to ensure sustainable outcomes for everyone.
As a result of Neil’s petition, the council requested staff advice on the issue.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel thanked Neil for her “passion and commitment”.
Dalziel pointed out that Environment Canterbury (ECan) was responsible for the Waimakariri stop banks and the city council was responsible for the Styx River banks.
Council chief executive Dawn Baxendale said she expected staff to talk with ECan and the two authorities to come to conclusions together.
In a response to questions provided to Stuff before the meeting, council planning and consents head John Higgins said it was likely the issues around Brooklands and Spencerville would be addressed as part of the council’s plan to deal with the impacts of sea level rise.
The newly established coastal hazards adaptation planning programme would begin in the Lyttelton Harbour basin in spring.
But exactly when Brooklands and Spencerville would be looked at as part of the programme had not been decided, Higgins said.
Addictive Eaters Anonymous
I was spiralling out of control
I don't have many memories from my childhood, but the memories I do have relate to food - picnics with bacon and egg pie, my mother’s home cooking, Sunday bread. I was never much of a sweet tooth, but instead I preferred savouries, pastries, breads and the like. I grew up on a farm and food was plentiful and was never restricted and I lived a pretty healthy, active lifestyle.
Once I hit my teenage years, however, I remember starting to get worried about my weight. (I'll just mention here that I don't think I have ever been overweight and I certainly wasn't overweight as a teenager).
Poll: How should Guy Fawkes be celebrated?
While it is a fun occasion, fireworks on Guy Fawkes Night has caused much conflict over the years, upsetting our pets and disrupting the sleep of neighbours.
How should we celebrate Guy Fawkes Night? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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28.9% With a city-wide public fireworks display
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19.5% Small fireworks displays in each community
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7.6% Keep it as is
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33% We shouldn't celebrate it!
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10.6% Anything but fireworks
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0.4% Other - I'll share below
Gang presence this weekend
International members of the Mongols MC are expected in Canterbury for an event marking five years since the gang established itself in New Zealand.
What you need to know:
-The gang has three chapters in the South Island. Wainoni-based Ōtautahi East, Ashburton-based Mid-South and SH1, Burnham.
- Police say they will have ‘considerable resource’ in the region during the event from November 7-10.
- Police in Canterbury have planned a major operation around the event - thought to coincide with a national meeting - from November 7 to 10, and have drafted in staff from two other districts to help.
- Mongols members from across the country are expected to meet at the gang’s original South Island headquarters - a fortified property on SH1, Burnham, on the outskirts of Christchurch.
- Canterbury district commander Superintendent Tony Hill says:
“We’re prepared for multiple contingencies. We will be monitoring their behaviour very closely over the period, if they’re not behaving appropriately then we will be taking appropriate action quite swiftly.”
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