Southern View: March 10, 2020

8 Tuesday March 10 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
SOUTHERN VIEW
News
Playcentre
close to
reopening
Woolston Playcentre
communications advisor
Hana Phillpotts writes of the
centre reopening on Portman
St soon.
Three and a half years ago,
this playcentre and their families
packed up and relocated so that
a rebuild of the centre could be
completed.
Linwood Playcentre opened its
doors to us during this time and
have been so hospitable enabling
us to remain a strong and fully
functioning playcentre family.
After a disappointing shift in
the plan from insurers, the wait
is finally over and our fully refurbished
playcentre building is sitting
smartly on a brand-new foundation
on Portman St, Woolston with
every modern amenity inside,
including a quiet nursery area and
updated kitchen.
We will be back on site this
autumn – those interested should
keep tabs on our Facebook page
Woolston Playcentre for updates on
the opening date, activities planned
and answers to other queries.
We will also now have a modern
open plan learning space that
is adjacent to regenerating native
reserve at the end of a cul de sac
road and a revamped outdoor
play area under the shade of an
established oak tree.
We will be able welcome families
from all around Woolston,
Opawa, Ferrymead Heathcote,
Redcliffs and Sumner for playbased
early childhood education
in our new and improved centre.
Woolston Playcentre was
founded in 1967. We offer early
childhood education to children
up to six-years-old and enjoy
reciprocal relationships with our
local community.
We follow the Playcentre
Aotearoa’s philosophy and guidelines
which emphasise the importance
of child-led learning and
affirm whānau as the first and
best educators of their tamariki,
so that families are strengthened
and communities enriched.
View hindered by dumped rubbish
• By Jess Gibson
A LOOKOUT spot on the Port
Hills has become a dumping
ground.
It started off with smaller litter
like cans, bottles and fast food
waste being left in and around a
car park at the top of Mt Pleasant
Rd, near the intersection with
Summit Rd.
But now, the scale of the problem
has escalated, with people
leaving large piles of household
rubbish and building waste, says
a resident.
Dmitri Rechkunov
lives
on Summit Rd
and he has been
spending a lot of
time picking up
rubbish within a
Dmitri
Rechkunov
radius of about
500m around the
area where there
are no public bins.
“I’ve called the city council a
number of times asking them to
put a rubbish bin on the intersection
of Mt Pleasant Rd and Summit
Rd,’’ he said.
“I still pick up bottles from my
property, people sit on the intersection
drinking beer and throw
Pool time for doggos, woofers and puppers
FURRY FRIENDS can look
forward to the Pooch Pool Party
at Waltham Pool on April 4.
Hundreds of dogs will be able
to enjoy the water and show off
their social swim skills for a few
hours.
The $3.50 entry fee will go to
the SPCA.
City council head of recreation,
sports and events Nigel Cox said
the party will be the highlight of
the swim season for dog owners.
“More than 300 dogs made
the most of the chance to leap
into Waltham Pool last year,
so we knew that owners would
want their dogs to wade into the
excitement again this month.
“You can see the benefits of a
dog-friendly day out in a fresh
environment.
LITTER: The problem of people dumping rubbish at the top of
Mt Pleasant Rd has escalated according to Dmitri Rechkunov,
who lives on Summit Rd.
them over the fence.”
He said there are a lot of people
walking on Summit Rd who pick
up rubbish and ask to use his
rubbish bin.
“It’s totally fine that [visitors]
use my bin, but you can see how
many people worry about it.”
City council manager of city
FURRY FUN: A pool party for dogs will be held at Waltham Pool
on April 4.
PHOTO: NEWSLINE ​
“Dog owners usually leave with
a big smile while their pets have a
satisfied grin after a big swim. It
is a day of pooch pandemonium
streets maintenance Mark Pinner
said staff are aware of the
problem.
“We have received three reports
in the past three days. Two of
these were to report builder waste
and one for household waste.”
Before this, he said staff
had only received and actioned
but most dogs are on their best
behaviour.
“We have just a few rules – one
pet per owner and only dogs rule
only one report in the past 12
months.
“There are no public bins in the
area, and waste, once identified,
is typically removed within two
days.”
He said this type of dumping
is classed as ‘fly-tipping’ and
individuals face prosecution if
caught. Fines range between
$100 and $400 depending on
how much is dumped and what it
contains.
“We encourage the public to
report any such issues. If people
can identify anyone responsible,
we request they provide as much
information as possible so that
we can follow up with them.”
Mt Pleasant is not the only
place which has been treated as a
tip this year.
It was reported in February
that rubbish had been spilling out
of bins at Taylors Mistake Beach
onto the ground and in January,
there were issues with people
dumping green waste at public
areas in Diamond Harbour.
• HAVE YOUR SAY: What
do you think about residents
having to deal with waste
being left behind by other
people? Email your views to
jess.gibson@starmedia.kiwi
in the pool.
“It is also a great opportunity to
celebrate the end of the summer
season before we drain the pool
in preparation for the reopening
later this year,” Mr Cox said.
The Pooch Pool Party will be
split into two sessions based on
the size of dogs. The session for
small to medium-sized dogs
(up to 56 centimetres tall) will
be held from 10am to noon and
the other for larger dogs (56
centimetres and taller) will go
from 1pm to 3pm.
City council animal
management staff will be
on hand to microchip all
Christchurch-registered dogs at
no cost to owners.
The event is sponsored by Jim’s
Dog Wash.