Selwyn Times: August 29, 2018

12 Wednesday August 29 2018
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SELWYN TIMES
Fire rages, homes at risk
More housing can only be a good thing
Rolleston
resident
Alice Watson
is studying a
Bachelor of
Agriculture
at Lincoln
University
and talks
about the housing boom in
the district
When travelling through and
around Rolleston, it’s almost
impossible to go far without
passing either an advertisement
for a new or growing subdivision
or houses under construction.
The booming residential expansion
that began in the wake
of the 2010/11 earthquakes
seems to have proven itself the
gift that keeps on giving.
As a fairly sheltered Lincoln
student I could easily grumble
on about the downsides of the
continuous disappearance of
so many trees and paddocks,
but the benefits of the rapid
developments in the district are
undeniable.
Plentiful housing seems to be
helping keep properties (relatively)
affordable, which certainly
beat wrangling shortages
akin to those up the northern
end of the nation.
For young professionals and
students, the continued construction
of new houses makes
the area quite attractive; there
aren’t many places in this country
so near a major city where
the weekly rent can be almost
equal to your grocery bill.
Financials aside, many I’ve
met have expressed their enjoyment
of Rolleston and Lincoln’s
‘out-of-town’ feel and the spaciousness,
with Christchurch
close enough to be convenient.
The peace and pace works
for retirees and families, and
number of schools in the area
has almost tripled in the last
five years.
All in all, this little area seems
to suit people at every stage of
life; for growing a community
this can only be a good thing.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Rolleston resident Alice Watson talks
about the increase of housing in the district and its effects. ​
Readers respond to the
potholes on West Belt in
Lincoln being filled in by
Christmas
Gayle Elizabeth Lord –
Well they deserve to have this
pothole fixed after so long but
maybe then some of the ones
around from the earthquake
could get done properly. Sick of
patch-ups that fail as soon as we
get rain. Doesn’t do much for a
car’s suspension when you can’t
see the hole in the dark. Actually
not very good for my teeth either.
Barry Clarke – Lots of
potholes everywhere, council too
busy making cycle lanes to fix
potholes, I don’t mind cycle lanes
but the cyclists still ride on the
footpath or road.
Taina Kahutia Tawhitopou
Connell – What a joke.
Readers respond to the
fourth car v cow crash in
the past couple of months
Eileen Gundesen – We
used to have a farm with cows.
Often I would find members
of the public in our paddocks,
picnicking, picking watercress
from our water races or picking
up wood or pine cones. They got
into the paddocks via the gates,
often leaving them open or not
latched correctly. So don’t always
blame the farmers.
Bruce Marshall – Police
are reminding motorists to keep
speed down at night which is
good advice especially in rural
areas. However, livestock has no
place on roads at anytime unless
being shifted along a road in a
controlled manner. Owners of
livestock need to lift their game.
Janys Rebecca Harrison
– Here’s an idea – the cattle
farmers should be fined if their
cows cause any crashes like this.
Cars and cows obviously do not
go together very well. If there’s a
repeat of this, somebody could
get seriously injured or even die.
Nicola Loach – I know these
are cows, but this should also be
a polite reminder to horse riders
to make themselves as visible
as they can if road riding, and
ensure all gates and fences are
secure. What a terrible outcome
for everyone.
Annette Wilson – Phone
*555. The farmer can’t get
the stock off the road if he
doesn’t know about it. The police
work with the farmers. No one
wants the public injured or the
stock.
Kathryn Macgregor –
Farmers in Selwyn need to be
spoken to.