Selwyn Times: March 26, 2019
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SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Wednesday <strong>March</strong> 27 <strong>2019</strong> 3<br />
News<br />
Why you have to pay for playground<br />
$70k bill to<br />
repair private<br />
development<br />
• By Anan Zaki and Julia Evans<br />
THE DISTRICT council has<br />
revealed why ratepayers are<br />
footing the $70,000 bill to<br />
repair a playground built by a<br />
subdivision developer.<br />
Levi Park playground off<br />
Strauss Drive, Rolleston, was<br />
built by developers Gillman<br />
Wheelans in 2014, but it was<br />
constructed on poor soil, causing<br />
the playground to slump late last<br />
year.<br />
District council property and<br />
commercial manager Douglas<br />
Marshall said Gillman Wheelans<br />
maintenance responsibility<br />
ended in 2015.<br />
“In reviewing the reasons for<br />
this problem, the council has<br />
considered whether there are<br />
any liability issues on Gillman<br />
Wheelans, and it does not<br />
believe there are,” he said.<br />
“Gillman Wheelans has<br />
provided engineering and other<br />
expertise during the past six<br />
months and continues to assist<br />
the council as requested.”<br />
The geo-technical report<br />
commissioned by the district<br />
SLUMP: Ratepayers are footing the $70,000 bill to fix a<br />
playground in Rolleston.<br />
council late last year identified<br />
that parts of the playground site<br />
had historically been filled with<br />
poor compaction, which was<br />
likely to have occurred some<br />
years ago when the land was<br />
used for agricultural purposes.<br />
“The site investigations also<br />
showed that the ground is made<br />
up of mainly soft soil, which<br />
naturally struggles to drain,<br />
and that the drainage had failed<br />
within the playground site.”<br />
Mr Marshall said this resulted<br />
in the playground site becoming<br />
waterlogged, which contributed<br />
to parts of the structure<br />
slumping.<br />
“The council has never had<br />
issues with ground conditions<br />
impacting on playgrounds such<br />
as this,” he said.<br />
“In the future it will be<br />
mindful if similar ground<br />
conditions are identified to<br />
consider the type of engineering/<br />
drainage being installed by the<br />
developer.”<br />
It was dubbed New Zealand’s<br />
first “smart playground” with<br />
augmented reality markers<br />
which would give instructions<br />
for games when scanned by a<br />
smartphone.<br />
The land is currently being<br />
remediated. A geo-technical<br />
engineer advised the council<br />
that this issue is isolated to<br />
the playground area and does<br />
not affect nearby residential<br />
properties.<br />
The old playground equipment<br />
is being replaced with lighter<br />
equipment to prevent future<br />
slumping, Mr Marshall said.<br />
“The new playground<br />
equipment will be more suitable<br />
for the remediated site. Our<br />
thanks to nearby residents for<br />
their patience and support as we<br />
work to make Levi Park a safe<br />
playground for the community,”<br />
he said.<br />
Drainage work started in<br />
November and is expected to be<br />
completed at the end of the week.<br />
A new climbing structure<br />
being imported from Germany<br />
is expected to be installed at Levi<br />
Park in late May.<br />
The playground is likely to reopen<br />
in June.<br />
Local<br />
News<br />
Now<br />
In Brief<br />
Fire rages, homes at risk<br />
FIERY TRIP TO WORK<br />
A woman on her way to work<br />
was left “shaken” after her<br />
vehicle caught fire, Hororata<br />
Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire<br />
officer Bruce Sayer said. The<br />
engine caught fire last Tuesday<br />
about 8am and, while Mr Sayer<br />
said the vehicle was left “totally<br />
burnt,” the owner got out<br />
uninjured. “The engine ran out<br />
of power and she turned around<br />
to go home before it caught fire.”<br />
LUCKY ESCAPE<br />
An Australian woman<br />
walked away without injury after<br />
rolling her rental vehicle into a<br />
paddock near Rakaia Gorge on<br />
Sunday. The woman was heading<br />
towards the gorge on State<br />
Highway 77 when she swerved<br />
to the right, hit a bank and her<br />
vehicle rolled into a nearby<br />
paddock. Hororata Volunteer<br />
Fire Brigade chief fire officer<br />
Bruce Sayer said the vehicle<br />
likely rolled once or twice and<br />
was severely damaged.<br />
BONFIRE CALL-OUT<br />
In spite of the district’s restricted<br />
fire ban, the Leeston Volunteer<br />
Fire Brigade was called to put out<br />
a bonfire at Coes Ford. Chief fire<br />
officer Lloyd Clausen said it was<br />
called to the banks of the <strong>Selwyn</strong><br />
River after 9pm last Monday and<br />
quickly put the fire out.<br />
The ‘Boxed Logo’<br />
To answer the challenge of accommodating<br />
the Emirates logo in a horizontal space, we<br />
propose a new format in addition to the Brand<br />
Badge: the Boxed Logo.<br />
.2x<br />
The Boxed Logo has been created using a<br />
carefully proportioned red container to<br />
house the Emirates logo. It is not a shortened<br />
version of the Brand Badge.<br />
x<br />
TAke off with Rolleston’s massive<br />
TrAVel<br />
eXPo<br />
sATurdAy<br />
30 MArch<br />
10AM-3.30PM<br />
at Rolleston<br />
Community Centre,<br />
Rolleston Drive<br />
.2x<br />
.2x PrinciPle .2x<br />
sPonsor<br />
come<br />
along and<br />
discover<br />
your next<br />
holiday<br />
Be in to<br />
WI N<br />
attend the event & go in the draw to<br />
win two RetURn tiCKets to sYDneY<br />
on an a380 courtesy of emiRates.<br />
HAVE YOUR SAY<br />
Change the speed limit<br />
to 60km/h?<br />
We want to make Christchurch roads safer. We’re reviewing<br />
speed limits across our roading network.<br />
We are proposing to change the speed limit to 60km/h on<br />
Summit Road, with these adjoining side roads included<br />
in the proposal:<br />
Broadleaf Lane<br />
Sumner Road*<br />
Worsleys Road<br />
Mount Pleasant Road<br />
Evans Pass Road<br />
Consultation is open until 5pm on 8 April.<br />
Let us know what you think<br />
ccc.govt.nz/haveyoursay<br />
Competition drawn on the day.<br />
*Sumner Road is re-opening<br />
at 6pm on 29 <strong>March</strong> <strong>2019</strong>.