Selwyn Times: March 27, 2019

SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Wednesday March 27 2019 3
News
Why you have to pay for playground
$70k bill to
repair private
development
• By Anan Zaki and Julia Evans
THE DISTRICT council has
revealed why ratepayers are
footing the $70,000 bill to
repair a playground built by a
subdivision developer.
Levi Park playground off
Strauss Drive, Rolleston, was
built by developers Gillman
Wheelans in 2014, but it was
constructed on poor soil, causing
the playground to slump late last
year.
District council property and
commercial manager Douglas
Marshall said Gillman Wheelans
maintenance responsibility
ended in 2015.
“In reviewing the reasons for
this problem, the council has
considered whether there are
any liability issues on Gillman
Wheelans, and it does not
believe there are,” he said.
“Gillman Wheelans has
provided engineering and other
expertise during the past six
months and continues to assist
the council as requested.”
The geo-technical report
commissioned by the district
SLUMP: Ratepayers are footing the $70,000 bill to fix a
playground in Rolleston.
council late last year identified
that parts of the playground site
had historically been filled with
poor compaction, which was
likely to have occurred some
years ago when the land was
used for agricultural purposes.
“The site investigations also
showed that the ground is made
up of mainly soft soil, which
naturally struggles to drain,
and that the drainage had failed
within the playground site.”
Mr Marshall said this resulted
in the playground site becoming
waterlogged, which contributed
to parts of the structure
slumping.
“The council has never had
issues with ground conditions
impacting on playgrounds such
as this,” he said.
“In the future it will be
mindful if similar ground
conditions are identified to
consider the type of engineering/
drainage being installed by the
developer.”
It was dubbed New Zealand’s
first “smart playground” with
augmented reality markers
which would give instructions
for games when scanned by a
smartphone.
The land is currently being
remediated. A geo-technical
engineer advised the council
that this issue is isolated to
the playground area and does
not affect nearby residential
properties.
The old playground equipment
is being replaced with lighter
equipment to prevent future
slumping, Mr Marshall said.
“The new playground
equipment will be more suitable
for the remediated site. Our
thanks to nearby residents for
their patience and support as we
work to make Levi Park a safe
playground for the community,”
he said.
Drainage work started in
November and is expected to be
completed at the end of the week.
A new climbing structure
being imported from Germany
is expected to be installed at Levi
Park in late May.
The playground is likely to reopen
in June.
Local
News
Now
In Brief
Fire rages, homes at risk
FIERY TRIP TO WORK
A woman on her way to work
was left “shaken” after her
vehicle caught fire, Hororata
Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire
officer Bruce Sayer said. The
engine caught fire last Tuesday
about 8am and, while Mr Sayer
said the vehicle was left “totally
burnt,” the owner got out
uninjured. “The engine ran out
of power and she turned around
to go home before it caught fire.”
LUCKY ESCAPE
An Australian woman
walked away without injury after
rolling her rental vehicle into a
paddock near Rakaia Gorge on
Sunday. The woman was heading
towards the gorge on State
Highway 77 when she swerved
to the right, hit a bank and her
vehicle rolled into a nearby
paddock. Hororata Volunteer
Fire Brigade chief fire officer
Bruce Sayer said the vehicle
likely rolled once or twice and
was severely damaged.
BONFIRE CALL-OUT
In spite of the district’s restricted
fire ban, the Leeston Volunteer
Fire Brigade was called to put out
a bonfire at Coes Ford. Chief fire
officer Lloyd Clausen said it was
called to the banks of the Selwyn
River after 9pm last Monday and
quickly put the fire out.
The ‘Boxed Logo’
To answer the challenge of accommodating
the Emirates logo in a horizontal space, we
propose a new format in addition to the Brand
Badge: the Boxed Logo.
.2x
The Boxed Logo has been created using a
carefully proportioned red container to
house the Emirates logo. It is not a shortened
version of the Brand Badge.
x
TAke off with Rolleston’s massive
TrAVel
eXPo
sATurdAy
30 MArch
10AM-3.30PM
at Rolleston
Community Centre,
Rolleston Drive
.2x
.2x PrinciPle .2x
sPonsor
come
along and
discover
your next
holiday
Be in to
WI N
attend the event & go in the draw to
win two RetURn tiCKets to sYDneY
on an a380 courtesy of emiRates.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Change the speed limit
to 60km/h?
We want to make Christchurch roads safer. We’re reviewing
speed limits across our roading network.
We are proposing to change the speed limit to 60km/h on
Summit Road, with these adjoining side roads included
in the proposal:
Broadleaf Lane
Sumner Road*
Worsleys Road
Mount Pleasant Road
Evans Pass Road
Consultation is open until 5pm on 8 April.
Let us know what you think
ccc.govt.nz/haveyoursay
Competition drawn on the day.
*Sumner Road is re-opening
at 6pm on 29 March 2019.