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Page 6, <strong>Ashburton</strong>’s The <strong>Courier</strong>, Thursday <strong>19</strong> <strong>September</strong> 20<strong>19</strong><br />
Lighting change<br />
‘‘Infrastructure changes’’<br />
that allowed the<br />
installation of Christmas<br />
decorations in East<br />
Street, <strong>Ashburton</strong>, have<br />
been removed by EA<br />
Networks ‘‘due to<br />
degradation and health<br />
and safety concerns’’.<br />
Areport to the<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> council’s<br />
Finance and Business<br />
Support Committee said<br />
that as aresult ‘‘ these<br />
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festive decorations<br />
(festive lighting) will not<br />
be included in this year’s<br />
Christmas season and<br />
festive theming’’.<br />
But council officershad<br />
been working on an<br />
alternative lightingoption<br />
that would mean bigger<br />
trees along East Street,<br />
from Moore to Havelock<br />
Street, lit up with fairy<br />
lights throughout the<br />
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Topline sports campus<br />
proposed for Lake Hood<br />
A$50m sports campus is<br />
proposed for Lake Hood,<br />
southeast of <strong>Ashburton</strong>.<br />
It was announced to a<br />
business and civic audience<br />
at Lake Hood.<br />
The Southern Parallel<br />
Sports Campus is proposed<br />
by APT Sports<br />
Academy Ltd, supported<br />
by Aonghus NZ Ltd,<br />
Westbury Investment<br />
Group USA, investment<br />
partners, the Allied<br />
Forces Foundation, and<br />
through alliances with<br />
New Zealand and North<br />
American universities.<br />
The mission is to<br />
‘‘change the game’’ by<br />
offering aholistic campus<br />
for people wishing to<br />
develop their true potential<br />
in sport and life,<br />
sports resilience and<br />
endurance training, afull<br />
medical, mental health<br />
and nutrition clinics and<br />
academic programmes.<br />
Catherine Stuart, managing<br />
partner of Aonghus,<br />
said Lake Hood was<br />
the key factor in bringing<br />
the concept to the region.<br />
Those to benefit<br />
include high performance<br />
athletes, disabled athletes,<br />
‘‘wounded warriors’’,<br />
returned servicemen<br />
and women, and<br />
youth sports.<br />
APT Sports Academy<br />
would deliver targeted<br />
training and education<br />
programmes catering<br />
specifically to their<br />
‘‘physical, mental, selfesteem<br />
and education<br />
needs, and offering each<br />
a more focused path in<br />
life’’.<br />
The campus would also<br />
involve the Allied Forces<br />
Foundation, a joint<br />
BritishAmerican foundation<br />
which supported<br />
wounded soldiers and<br />
their families in conflicts<br />
following 9/11.<br />
The proposed campus<br />
would include an indoor<br />
3G pitch apitch on a<br />
firm base with longpile<br />
artificial grass filled with<br />
sand and rubber crumb <br />
an outdoor G3 pitch, a<br />
running track, tennis, netball<br />
and basketball<br />
courts, a highperformance<br />
gym, swim<br />
resistance training, swim<br />
therapy, medical and<br />
therapy suites, anutrition<br />
centre, offices and boat<br />
shed.<br />
There would also be 20<br />
residentialstyle accommodation<br />
units and a<br />
lodge.<br />
The lodge would be<br />
created by lifting the roof<br />
of the existing Lake<br />
House (a popup restaurant<br />
will be created in<br />
the interim) and adding<br />
wings.<br />
When the work was<br />
finished, the restaurant<br />
would operate as normal.<br />
An agreement has<br />
been signed to buy the<br />
extra land needed for the<br />
complex, and New Zealand<br />
and international<br />
investors were sought.<br />
It was hoped the<br />
majority would be from<br />
New Zealand.<br />
The campus planned to<br />
hold two international<br />
meetings a year and<br />
would seek the Invictus<br />
Games, an international<br />
adaptive multisport<br />
event, created by Prince<br />
Harry, Duke of Sussex, in<br />
which wounded, injured<br />
or sick armed services<br />
personnel and their<br />
Care urged in<br />
lighting fires<br />
Fire officials are urging<br />
caution with too many fires<br />
escaping.<br />
Don Geddes, deputy<br />
principal rural fire officer<br />
for Mid and South Canterbury,<br />
said firefighters had<br />
dealt with five escaped fires<br />
in the past week and more<br />
care was needed.<br />
‘‘Most if not all were<br />
avoidable,’’ he said.<br />
The fires posed adanger<br />
and inconvenienced volunteer<br />
firefighters.<br />
Mr Geddes said it was<br />
still open season and<br />
people assumed it was safe<br />
because of the time of year,<br />
but not enough care was<br />
being taken.<br />
He said it was vital to<br />
check the weather forecast <br />
including the longterm forecast.<br />
It was also important to<br />
supervise fires, make sure<br />
wind would not take flames<br />
towards ahedge or trees, and<br />
have ameans of suppression<br />
on hand.<br />
It was also important to<br />
make sure fires were out.<br />
Embers should be raked<br />
and doused.<br />
Embers left smouldering<br />
could easily reignite many<br />
days after afire if awind got<br />
up.<br />
Mr Geddes said people<br />
were underestimating the<br />
fire risk at this time of year.<br />
associated veterans take<br />
part in nine sports.<br />
There would also be<br />
tournaments for ablebodied<br />
athletes.<br />
The lodge would have<br />
20 accommodation<br />
suites, akitchen and restaurant,<br />
a bar lounge,<br />
guest lounge, a soundproofed<br />
event centre and<br />
offices.<br />
The sports complex<br />
would be built on vacant<br />
land away from the lodge.<br />
It was hoped to finalise<br />
investment by December<br />
this year and complete<br />
plans and consenting by<br />
January 2020 and construction<br />
to start in<br />
March 2020.<br />
It was proposed to<br />
open the complex in the<br />
first quarter of 2021.<br />
Geraint Howells, who<br />
has moved to <strong>Ashburton</strong><br />
from Leeston, said he set<br />
up APT Sports Academy<br />
Ltd with ex Super Rugby<br />
player Ged Robinson,<br />
who looked for guidance<br />
after top rugby.<br />
They came up with an<br />
holistic approach to<br />
training.<br />
The academy would<br />
include online tuition.<br />
Apercentage of profits<br />
would go to help disabled<br />
children.<br />
The campus will have<br />
up to 200 attendees and<br />
up to 70 staff.<br />
The rowing lake would<br />
be a key part of the<br />
campus.<br />
Mr Howells trained in<br />
the UK as a landscape<br />
architect and designer.<br />
Catherine Stuart said<br />
the campus was a great<br />
opportunity for the district<br />
and she wanted the<br />
community to be<br />
involved.<br />
There were very few<br />
campuses like the one<br />
proposed in the world.<br />
Promoters looked<br />
closely at Christchurch<br />
for the campus but<br />
wanted a ‘‘destination’’<br />
and <strong>Ashburton</strong> was a<br />
great region, and Lake<br />
Hood was the icing on the<br />
cake.<br />
Photos: An artist’s<br />
impression of the<br />
development.<br />
Hello, from <strong>Ashburton</strong><br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong>, greeting from <strong>Ashburton</strong>. The business of council was put aside<br />
for afew moments when Cr Russell Ellis introduced Charlie Dennis from<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> in Devon. He is acouncillor there.<br />
Mr Dennis said when the <strong>Ashburton</strong> council in Devon found out he was<br />
coming to <strong>Ashburton</strong>, Canterbury to see his daughter, an au pair here, they<br />
gave him abook and few other items to bring by way of greeting. They were<br />
passed to mayor Donna Favel. Photo: Charlie Dennis of <strong>Ashburton</strong>, Devon<br />
and Donna Favel of <strong>Ashburton</strong>, Canterbury.