North Canterbury News: August 06, 2020

NEWS
The North Canterbury News, August 6, 2020
3
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Cleared ... Alison Clay, left, of Rangiora, with her dog Jafa, and Bernadette Canavan, of Rangiora, with Nuggett at the Ashley Rakahuri
Regional Park after ECan’s tree­felling operation.
PHOTO: SHELLEY TOPP
Dismayoverloss of river trees
By SHELLEY TOPP
The felling of 500 trees in the
Ashley Rakahuri Regional
Park has left some visitors to
the area shocked and
disappointed.
The trees, which had
surrounded apicturesque
walkway near the West Belt
entrance to the park in
Rangiora, were felled by
Environment Canterbury
(ECan) last week during the
completion of work to protect
Rangiora and Kaiapoi from
the threat of river flooding.
However, park users say
the affected area was a
special part of the park, used
by many to walk, run, cycle,
exercise their dogs, and just
relax. Because of this, the
community should have been
consulted before the decision
was made to remove the
trees.
Alison Clay, aregular
visitor to the park with her
dog, Jafa, says she is
saddened to see the
‘‘beautiful walkway
massacred’’.
‘‘For what? How does it
stop flooding?’’
Cyclist Bernadette
Canavan, who is another
regular park visitor with her
dog, Nugget, was also
disappointed that so many
trees had been felled.
‘‘I felt very saddened when
Isaw the trees. This was my
favourite place to ride my
bike and now all that beauty
has been destroyed.’’
ECan regional lead in river
engineering Shaun
McCracken says the felled
trees were between the
primary and secondary
stopbanks. ‘‘In the event of a
breach of the primary
stopbank, the flood flow is
channelled back into the
river by the secondary bank.
‘‘The problem with trees in
this particular area is that
they slow the water down and
restrict its passage through
this critical zone and back
into the river downstream of
the rail bridge.
‘‘Modelling of flood flows
through this area indicated
that, with the trees in place,
overflows into Rangiora were
likely.
‘‘This is arisk we are
unwilling to accept.’’
However, aMinistry for the
Environment report
published in 2008 concluded
that ‘‘flood damage during
major New Zealand floods is
rarely caused by floods
exceeding design protection
levels on stopbanks on
rivers’’.
‘‘It is more often caused by
unpredictable breaches of a
weak point in astopbank
when the river is below bankfull
stage; or overflow of
backed­up tributaries on to
land behind stopbanks when
the river is close to bank­full;
or spillage across floodways
...’’
It states: ‘‘These risks do
not change even when
afforestation is factored in.’’
August round of events funding opens
By ROBYN BRISTOW
The Waimakariri Event Fund has opened
for the Augustround, with local event
organisers encouraged to apply for up to
$5000.
The contestable fund is providedbythe
Waimakariri District Council, managed
by Enterprise North Canterbury(ENC)
and administered by Visit Waimakariri.
It aims to support new events,which
afterthreeyears of seed fundingshould
be self­sustaining.
Applications open for Marchand
August each year,with atotalannual
funding poolof$30,000. However, funding
has increased for this latest round.
ENC chiefexecutive HeatherWarwick
says it has beenincreasedto$50,000
becauseofunallocatedfunding last year.
‘‘We are seekingapplications this year
for new events and also fromthe existing
events that were not able to run in 2020
due to Covid­19.
‘‘We want to see these events remain
and be reinvigorated for our residents
and visitors.”
Applicants can receive up to $5000togo
toward the cost of event co­ordination or
promotion. Funding is at the discretionof
the funding panel. It is allocated to
support events that show economic or
community benefit to the district.
Visit Waimakariri events and
promotion administrator Lucy Harvey
sayssupporting events andattracting
people to the region through vibrantlocal
events is more important than ever
because so many were cancelledor
postponed during lockdown.
Businesses are also startingtograpple
withfewer international visitors.
For funding information, go onlineto
visitwaimakariri.co.nz/events/funding/.
Applications close on August 31.
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