Selwyn Times: June 24, 2020

SELWYN TIMES Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Wednesday June 24 2020 5
News
today
Water renewals for the ward
($370,000).
Wastewater upgrades and renewals
($646,000).
Some of the projects outlined
in the 2020/21 draft Annual Plan
have been carried forward from
the 2019/20 financial year.
As part of the plan, the district
council consulted on rates options
for this year in a bid to ease financial
pressure on residents.
It was decided that rates will
increase by about 1.6 per cent,
lower than the expected 3.5 per
cent increase.
The general rate will increase by
three per cent, the water supply
rate by four per cent and the water
race rate by three per cent which
equates to the average 1.6 per cent.
Other options considered
included keeping rates at the
level they are now, increasing the
volumetric water charge by 21 per
cent and proceeding with the 3.5
per cent increase.
The district council identified
savings of $1.7 million to reduce
the level of the rates increase.
Deferred projects include
refurbishments at the district
council offices and public toilets
for Lincoln and Prebbleton.
Catering at district council
meetings will also be stopped.
THERE HAVE been a record
number of building consent
applications for the district since
the lockdown ended.
The district council was receiving
an average of around 220
new building consents a month
prior to Covid-19.
Following the end of the
lockdown, it received 258 applications
in May and is on track
to reach that number again this
month.
District council building
manager Vanessa Mitchell says
the consent team has also gone
from carrying out 1400 building
inspections a month to about
1600 inspections in May,
“That is around 80 a day and
it’s been getting busier in June,
with the numbers looking like
they could top 1800 inspections
by the end of the month.”
Over 60 per cent of all applications
have been for new buildings,
she says.
The district council continued
to receive and process consents
through all alert levels with
digital and some on-site
inspections able to take place for
SURGE:
The number
of building
consents
was up to
about 1600
inspections in
May and it has
been getting
busier this
month. ​
Large numbers of building applications
the start of level 3.
“The team has cleared all its
consents from the lockdown and
has been supported by staff from
Napier City Council but the level
of demand means some consent
processing times may be slower
than usual.
“We’ve been able at this stage
to keep to our commitment of
a 48-hour turnaround from
booking to us carrying out
inspections. We’re doing our
best to keep up, but people may
see some slippage in the time
frames,” Mrs Mitchell says.
Water heater,
dehumidifier and
whiteware have
been stolen
•From page 1
“We will also cover what
type of alarms can be used
and answer questions around
insurance, who is liable and
things like that.”
He said the main reason for the
meeting is to try to cut down the
opportunities for burglars.
Earlier this month, a
dehumidifier and water heater
were taken from a house under
construction in on Billy T Lane in
Rolleston.
Last month $10,000 worth of
new appliances were stolen from a
house being built in Lincoln.
An induction cooktop,
dishwasher, microwave, oven,
Insinkerator, rangehood and
tapware was stolen from the home
being constructed on Whitehorn
Drive.
The offenders also stole a
gardener’s trailer parked on
the roadside nearby, using it to
transport the whiteware.
•Anyone wanting to attend
the meeting should go
to Rolleston College next
Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm.
Email dean.harker@police.
govt.nz
Love, Learn and Play
the Freckles way!
OPENING OCTOBER 2020
Freckles Early Learning Centre is a brand new purposebuilt,
spacious facility in Rolleston with the best and
latest pedagogical experiences. Freckles is built on a
massive 3500m2 site and is licensed for only 70 children
centre-wide.
When owners Tracy and Gavin Summerfield were approached
by the developer of Falcons Landing, Rolleston to build
another centre, they thought long and hard about it. They
had observed a number of new centres opening in recent
years but most seemed to be concentrating on larger licences
with smaller sites. So they decided they would do something
different. Freckles has been designed with children in mind,
with spacious indoor and outdoor areas, enabling children to
explore, identify, negotiate, take risks and create meaning to
learn about the world around them.
Freckles will operate three stage and age appropriate
rooms employing qualified teachers in all environments.
Tracy says their success with the couple’s The Cat’s Pyjamas
Rolleston and West Melton early learning centres is built
on having the best possible staff and this will continue at
Freckles. “We are committed to staffing the new centre with
qualified, passionate and caring people who believe in our
vision, values and philosophy. We know they will have relevant
skills and experience, that they will bring something unique
to our team, and that they will put the children in their care
before anything else.”
The Freckles vision: creating places that are rich in love,
laughter and learning.
“Every decision we make comes from the heart,” Tracy
adds. “Our aim is to provide beautiful spaces that are full of
happy, nurtured and challenged children, where the wonder
of learning thrives.’ “To us, family is everything. We are
passionate about creating early learning centres that offer a
safe, welcoming and nurturing environment”.
Freckles Early Learning Centre provides space and
opportunity for physical play.
Play is valuable for children’s physical development as
they run, climb, skip, hop, jump, throw and catch. Physical
play helps build on children’s fine and gross motor skills,
and having the space to provide swings, bike tracks, fixed
and moveable play equipment is very important for child
development.
YOU ARE WARMLY INVITED to follow our journey as
Freckles develops and becomes part of the Rolleston
community.
Registrations are now open www.freckleselc.co.nz
48 Braithwaite Drive,
Falcon’s Landing, Rolleston
Phone: 0212802446
Email: info@freckleselc.co.nz
Hours: 7.30am – 6.00pm
www.freckleselc.co.nz