Residents in Christchurch suburb plead with council to 'be on the right side of history'
A slice of ratepayer-owned land in a rapidly growing Christchurch suburb will be sold off for social and affordable housing, despite community pleas for the council to keep it.
Christchurch City Council bought land on Quaifes Rd in Halswell to build a stormwater treatment facility. At the time, the council was forced to buy more land than it needed because the owner did not want to sell only a portion of the property.
The council always planned to sell the surplus land (3.67 hectares) to help recoup costs, but the Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton community board wants a third retained for a park or community facility that could be needed in the future.
The council sided with staff, who said the land was not needed for a park or community facility because Halswell’s future was already well catered for within its growth plans.
Council head of facilities, property and planning Bruce Rendall said there were already 77 parks within a 2-kilometre radius of the site and more sports parks were planned for Templeton.
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 ❤️