Ashburton Courier: August 20, 2020

www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
NEWS
Ashburton Courier, August 20, 2020
11
New life for Greenstreet site
TONI.WILLIAMS
@ashburtoncourier.co.nz
Aplannedvintagemachinery
museum on the groundsofthe
Greenstreet community hall
has already been offered its
first piece, avintage swamp
plough.
It’s the first of many historic
items, mostlyfrom thearea,
expected to grace thetwo
tennis courts next to the
popularhallonAshburton
Staveley Road.
Thedeteriorated, and
unused, tennis courtswill be
spruceduptohouse an open
machinerymuseum.
Greenstreet/Ashburton
Forks ReserveBoard chair Ian
Hodge said board members
had considered many options
for the site, including
resurfacing and laying grass
but the cost andongoing
maintenance would prove too
much.
After much discussion
Greenstreet resident and
fellow board member Rob
Marriott came up with the idea
of avintage machinery
museum,hesaid.
It wasunanimouslyagreed
by theothermembers of the
board: Peter Elder, SueScott,
Alison Aschen, Bubbles Hastie
and Jonathan Ward.
‘‘Wethink there will be lot of
vintagemachinery sitting in
people’s sheds they maywant
to donate,’’ Mr Hodge said.
Thesite hadalready been
assessedbyGreg Donaldson
Contractors and some funding
secured through the
Ashburton District Council.
Plansincluded covering the
site with weed­matting, then
white pebbles or stone and
walkwaysbeing linedwith
wooden borders.
Greenstreet/Ashburton Forks Reserve Board chair Ian Hodge on the grounds of the popular
Greenstreet hall.
Mr Hodge said there had
beenalot of support from
members of thecommunity.It
was expectedthe work would
be done within ayear as one of
the conditionsofcouncil
funding.
The community was amazing
and is oftenquick to offer help
or services thathelp reduce
the costtothe committee, Mr
Hodge said.
But therewas some
additional funding available if
it wasneeded, raised through
hall hireand regular
Greenstreet community
events.
Themostrecent was the
annual Greenstreet/Ashburton
Forks quiz nightheld last
month.
Thesocial event drew alarge
crowd with some great prizes
up for grabs, Mr Hodge said.
Theboard also hosts an
annual Guy Fawkes event and
atraditionalKiwi Christmas
barbecue complete with sack
races andavisit byFather
Christmas whoarrivesby
motorcycle with giftsfor the
children.
Thehall and playground
area on the site have seen
many improvements in recent
years including painting as
well as roof/flooring repairs
and upgrades.
There arealso plansto
update thehall’s kitchen
facilities.
“It’s in agoodstate of
repair,” Mr Hodge said, ofthe
hall.
He said in the coming weeks
the board wouldbecallingfor
vintage machinery pieces but
anyone with items for
consideration could contact
board members.
Wellbeing group to apply for charitable status
Wellbeing Opuke is working on
astrategic plan and will apply
for charitabletrust statusas it
moves forward with its support
of community safety and
wellbeing.
The volunteer groupcovers
the rural area fromDorie to
Methvenand thefoothills to Mt
Somersand wasstarted by a
group of individualswith
connectionsto different
organisations,schools,
medicalpractices and
agencies in thearea.
Group co­ordinator Jess
Wilson said 57 people and 11
facilitators had attended a
recent strategy workshop.
Feedback had beengreat
and anumberofwellbeing
themeshad emerged.
She said concernshad been
raised aboutthe lackofa
central information hub and
list of services, andalso alack
of support fornewcomers.
Othershad voiced concerns
about theelderly, youth, and
the general anxiety currently
in the community.
Ms Wilson said Wellbeing
Opuke would now move
forward with developing a
strategic plan that addressed
those concerns and issues and
the community would once
again be askedfor its input.
Becomingacharitabletrust
was also agoal in the near
future and wouldallow more
options for the group.
Ms Wilson said her role was
that of aconnector and she
worked with organisations and
other groups to see what they
needed and directed them to
training or upskilling.
METHVEN BRIEFS
TOILET DELAY
The Methvenpublic toiletupgrade
project is aroundamonth behind
schedule.Plannedtobecompleted
this month, the upgrade has been
put backbecause of adelay witha
waterproofing productcoming from
Australia.The $76,000toilet
refurbishment projectalsoincludes
an upgrade of the nearby water
drinking fountain.
TREES PLANTED
Extra treeshavebeenplantedfor
screeningatthe CamroseEstate
playground. Lightingbollardsand
seating has been ordered andwill
be installed oncethe electrical
supply is installed.
OLD SKATE RAMP
With Methven’s newskatepark on
the corner of Bankand McMillan
streets now officially open, the old
skaterampatChalmersPark has
becomesurplus to requirements. It
willbedismantledand takenaway
in the coming weeks. Thepurposebuilt
new skatepark is proving
popularwith localsand opened on
July 11. It featuresride walls,skate
bowls and otherchallenges and has
been aprojectdriven by Kidz
Methvenand 13 years in the
making.
YOUNG DRIVERS
Adistrict drivingsupport initiative is
aiming to get amobile AA unit to
Methven to supportstudent drivers.
The unit wouldmake it easier for
students to completepaperwork
and to progress withtheir learner’s
licences.Ashburtoncouncil has
employedayouth driver licence coordinator
on afixed term contract to
support young people locally.
CONSENTSGRANTED
Some14consentshave been
issued for Methven in the the first six
months of this year. Theyhave a
totalvalue of $1,497,800, down
almost$400,000 on the same
period last year. Theconsents do
not include the OpukeHot Pools
($6,500,000) or Thyme Stream
subdivision ($1,264,000), which are
both located outside of the Methven
townshipboundary.
FUNDINGRECEIVED
Mt Hutt MemorialHallhas received
$8205 from Ashburtoncouncil for
new chairs andcarpet. Methven
Reserve Board received $8000 for a
new lawnmower and landscaping
workfor playground edging.
What would the
criteria be for
assisted dying?
Know before youvote
Authorisedbythe Secretary forJustice