FREE TUESday dECEMBER 20 2016 379 7100 Selwyn Times Proudly locally owned and published by Star Media Award winning publishing group Kea (Nestor Notabilis) MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OPEN 7 DAYS Phone 349 5952 Cnr Springs Rd & Marshs Rd, Prebbleton (next to Milanese Restaurant) Ladbrooks, Tai Tapu, Leeston, Lincoln, Southbridge, Prebbleton, Halswell, Rolleston, Templeton, Burnham, West Melton, Darfield, Arthurs Pass Rail link ‘vital’ as district grows Young athlete beats coach’s old record • By Tom Doudney WHEN ROLLESTON’S Maia Broughton broke a 44-year-old under-16 Canterbury athletics record, the person who set that record was right there cheering her on. That woman was her coach, former Commonwealth Games runner Bev Peterson, who set the record in 1972. Broughton, 14, won the gold medal in the 200m race at the National Secondary Schools Athletics Championships in Auckland earlier this month, with a time of 24.99 seconds, beating Peterson’s mark of 25.10 seconds. Athletics Canterbury confirmed the record last week. Broughton, who was representing Lincoln High School at the event, said she always had a goal of setting a record so she was happy with having done so. •Turn to page 4 • By Tom Doudney and Gabrielle Stuart DEVELOPING a passenger rail link between Selwyn and Christchurch will be “vital,” a transport expert has said, as the district’s population could double in about 20 years. Statistics NZ’s latest projections suggest Selwyn’s population could rise from 56,200 now to as high as 111,800 in 2038. Neighbouring Christchurch’s population would grow from 375,000 to 504,000 and Waimakariri would increase from 52,300 to 95,100. Simon Kingham That’s the high-end scenario, based on the trends of high migration, high fertility and people living longer continuing. The medium growth level scenario would still see Selwyn’s population grow to 92,900 over the same time period. Canterbury University Professor Simon Kingham said the growth would make developing rail links to both Selwyn and Waimakariri vital. “Rail systems can carry a lot more capacity more efficiently,” he said. “There is huge growth in rail all around the world except in New Zealand because they are not investing in it.” •Turn to page 4
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