Pegasus Post: May 08, 2018

6 Tuesday May 8 2018
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
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PEGASUS POST
Fire rages, homes at risk
Call for community facility grows
Joanna Gould
is pushing
for a new
community
facility at 10
Shirley Rd and
puts forward
some of her
ideas for the site
I ATTENDED an antenatal class
at the Shirley Community Centre
11 years ago and have been a
local Shirley resident for the past
10 years.
I have a passion for research,
learning and community spaces.
The former Shirley Community
Centre at 10 Shirley Rd was
an iconic focal point of our
community since 1915. It was
originally Shirley Primary
School, and later on our Shirley
Community Centre, a place
for cultural, educational and
recreational activities.
It was seriously damaged in the
February 22, 2011, earthquake,
and was demolished in 2012.
Since the earthquakes, our
community has been struggling
DAMAGED: The former Shirley Community Centre site before it
was demolished in 2012.
to get our homes repaired and
rebuilt. Two primary schools
have closed, our roads are still
damaged, there are detours and
closures in place, and sucker
trucks run throughout the night
due to sewer system failures
when it rains.
The Dudley Creek flood remediation
is overdue by a year, and
the ‘temporary depot/storage
yard’ sites at 10 Shirley Rd and
40 Guild St are having a negative
impact on residents lives.
Recently we learnt that the new
QE II campus, built to relocate
Avonside Girls’ and Shirley
Boys’ High Schools, may change
‘our school’ zones, which will
deny our children access to ‘our
schools’.
And now, after years of waiting
for the rebuild to start for
our community centre, we have
been dealt another blow. We find
out that the funding granted
by the city council has not been
included in the draft Long Term
Plan.
The 10 Shirley Rd site is a constant
visual reminder to me, and
the locals/road users of Shirley
Rd, that our community has been
left behind; we haven’t rebuilt
from the earthquakes.
What message are we sending
to the children at Shirley Primary
School and the children from
other schools that travel past this
area?
That it’s okay to treat your
community spaces like this?
Do our children matter to the
city council? Are they not future
Christchurch ratepayers?
Our community’s health is at
stake. We can not wait 10 years.
We need our community centre
rebuilt now.
My suggestion is to combine
city council resources with funding
and donations to create a new
Shirley Library, service centre,
learning space and playground,
with the existing Shirley Playcentre.
That would lift up our community
and give us a meeting
place for all cultural, educational
and recreational activities.
I created the website
www.10shirleyroad.org.nz to collate
my research and ideas for my
submission to the city council’s
Long Term Plan. Feel free to take
a look
Readers respond to an
article about the suburbs
of Shirley, Avonside,
Dallington, Richmond and
Edgeware being left off the
draft enrolment zone for
the new Shirley Boys and
Avonside Girls’ High School
campus set to open next
year.
from one hand to give to another
creates more problems than it
solves
Jenner Lichtwark – So boys
from Shirley will no longer be
allowed to go to Shirley Boys’
High School – that’s the ultimate
in stupid.
Bethany Nehoff – The new
location is stupid. It’s like saying
we’re merging Phillipstown and
Woolston Primary Schools but
moving it to Heathcote. How
rude to move the zones and to
not include kids that live in the
name’s area.
Sarah Smith – It is ridiculous
and not fair on our children,
especially those that have
attended primary schools in
the current zoned area that feed
into the high schools. Taking
UPSET: Richmond residents
Laura McIntosh (left) and
Vanessa van Hoof are upset
over the draft school zone
for the new Shirley Boys and
Avonside Girls’ campus, which
doesn’t include the suburbs of
Shirley, Richmond, Dallington,
Avonside or Edgeware.
PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER
Hagley Junior Open Night
Looking at high school options for 2019?
Join us for our Junior College Open Evening and discover
more about what Hagley can offer you!
TUESDAY, MAY 8TH | Please join us at either 4.30pm or 5.30pm
A maximum of 125 places available in Year 9 for 2019.
Currently no places available in Year 10 for 2019
Phone us on (03) 379 3090 ext 884 or visit www.hagley.school.nz
for more information about Junior Enrolments.