Study could reignite sports hub plans in Ashburton
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A study into the districts sport facilities could renew the plans for a sports hub centred around the EA Networks Centre.
Ashburton’s Sport Canterbury regional manager, Jan Cochrane, said with the Ashburton District Council and sporting bodies looking at planning ahead, it could be time to revisit the green field development at EA Network Centre but any decisions would depend on the findings in the utilisation study.
“It’s the time for everyone to collaborate, look at what the vision is and how sports are currently situated,” Cochrane said.
Council’s community services group manager, Steve Fabish, said the utilisation study of the EA Networks Centre and district sports fields would take place later this year.
“The utilisation study is about identifying the current usage of the activities within the EA Networks Centre and, where we have issues with peak periods and times of low usage, where there are other opportunities to increase the usage,” Fabish said.
“A similar study will analyse usage of our district’s existing developed sports fields.
“All of the information will be of high value in supporting any council decisions in the upcoming 2024-34 long-term plan, with regards to any expansion or the EA Networks Centre and development of additional sports fields.”
The council owns a large tract of land, about 15 hectares, to the west of the sports centre.
Securing additional land to futureproof the stadium site by providing room for the stadium to be extended and space for a variety of outdoor sports to become part of the sports hub, was critical for the council when it signed off the project.
“When the site was chosen that EA Networks Centre is now built on, the land surrounding it was identified as a vision for it to become a sports hub in the future,” Cochrane said.
Whether that time was now would be determined by the findings of the council study, she said.
Other councils in Canterbury have established sports hubs, such as the Selwyn District’s Foster Park in Rolleston and Waimakariri setting up a sports hub in Rangiora next to Mainpower Oval.
“We have seen in other regions the positive benefits of having a sports hub in one place,” Cochrane said.
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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62.6% Summer
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35.9% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
⚠️ 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 ❤️
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