Home Security Checklist
With summer just around the corner and the warmer weather setting in, you’re going to be spending a lot of time outdoors leaving doors and windows open to get fresh, cool breezes through your home. But leaving your home open may increase the risk of break-ins and create an easy way for intruders to gain entry into your home.
Exceed is here to help you with 10 top tips to improve your home security:
1 - Use key-operated locks on doors and windows – and don’t hide spare keys under doormats or in obvious places for burglars to find them easily
2 - Install security screens on all doors to keep your family safe
3 - Install window security stays to increase security, natural safe ventilation and prevent children falling from high windows
4 - Install hinge bolts to stop doors from being lifted out of their frames
5 - Upgrade beads and rubbers to hold any glass in place
6 - Install digital deadlocks so you no longer need to remember your keys when you leave your home and grant short term access to friends or Airbnb guests
7 - If you have an alarm system, make sure it is working properly
8 - Keep plants trimmed around doors and windows and install sensor lights or CCTV cameras
9 - Don’t leave valuable items like keys out in easy view for opportunistic thieves
10 - If you’re going away on holidays, make your home look occupied – leave the TV or radio playing, set lights to come on with a timer and ask a neighbour to collect your mail and take care of bins
Being aware of potential security risks and taking action early is the best way to keep your home and loved ones safe.
Click the link below to learn how Exceed we fix windows & doors specialists in your area can help you improve your home security!
Waimakariri district plan faces more delays amid changing rules
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Changing Government legislation is causing headaches for council staff, as Waimakariri’s new District Plan is set to be delayed again.
Waimakariri District Council development planning manager Matt Bacon said he was relieved when the last of the public hearings ended last week.
But with final council reports due on December 13, staff will have just two working days to present the final District Plan on December 17. A district plan helps to control and manage the development of the district or city.
‘‘We are working through what it looks like and we will update the council at its meeting on December 3,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘But we will likely seek another extension from the environment minister and the Resource Management Act (RMA) minister.’’
The council first notified its draft District Plan in September 2021, but within months legislation was introduced with new medium density residential housing standards (MDRS).
‘‘We needed to call for further submissions and we had to create a separate hearing panel to consider the plan variations to allow for the MDRS,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘We have tried to merge the process as much as possible, as well as looking at re-zoning and incorporating other new legislation.’’
When the draft plan was first notified there was no National Policy Statement (NPS) for Indigenous Biodiversity, but an NPS was introduced - and then replaced.
The Natural and Built Environment Act came into being last year and then repealed, and then there is the NPS on Urban Development and the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
The Government is now working on more RMA reforms and Environment Canterbury is working on the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.
And then there is the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, which includes three proposed housing developments in Waimakariri - two of them outside of the future urban development areas identified in the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
All three housing developments in the Bill have been included in submissions to the District Plan, including a proposed 850-home development at Ohoka, near Rangiora, which is also subject to an Environment Court appeal.
‘‘We haven’t seen the detail, so whether it is the same proposals, we don’t know, but they are different processes so we have to just keep doing what we are doing, until we are told otherwise,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘It might just be a timing thing, but we just don’t know.’’
Bacon said delaying the District Plan until new legislation is in place is not an option.
‘‘We are looking at what we can control and having a watching brief, and we will look at transitional timings because we don’t always have to immediately change planning documents when new legislation comes in.’’
Planning manager Wendy Harris said navigating changing Government legislation is a normal part of council planning work.
‘‘If we waited we wouldn’t do anything and we would go nowhere.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
The tiger who came to tea
Trays are such a useful item to have in the home – they are obviously great for serving food and drinks, particularly breakfast in bed! Find out how to create your own with Resene wallpaper and Resene Colorwood wood stain with these easy step by step instructions.
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