North Canterbury News: January 28, 2021

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2 The North Canterbury News, January 28, 2021
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Rates rise of 3.9pc proposed
By DAVID HILL
Jim Palmer’s lastWaimakaririDistrict
Council Long TermPlan hasproven to be
the mostchallenging.
The outgoing chiefexecutive, speaking
at Tuesday’s openingdeliberationsonthe
planatthe Rangiora Town Hall, said
there wereuncertaintiesfacing all
communities in New Zealand,
particularlyurban areas.
‘‘It’ssomething we willhavetoconsider
in our plan.
‘‘Theremay evenbeanimpact when
the nextproperty values aredone.
‘‘There’s already somesoftening in the
value of farmproperties, butit’stoo early
to predict how this is going to play out.’’
The council’sfinance andbusiness
supportmanager, JeffMillward,saidthe
draft 2021/31Long TermPlan(LTP) had
beendifficulttowrite,amidthe
uncertaintyfacing the region.
‘‘This is probablythe mostuncertain
Long TermPlanwe’vedone,’’hesaid.
‘‘There’s climate change,uncertainty
aroundwater policy, Covid, andifwego
into anotherlockdown it will change
things again.’’
Thepair proposedanaverage rates rise
acrossthe district of 3.9percent ayearfor
thenexttwo years,upfrom the1.5%rise
of 2020/21,but down on previousyears.
Therise reflects inflation, anda1%rise
to cover earthquake loan repayments.
‘‘Looking at othercouncils, I’m not
seeinganything as low as this,’’Mr
Millward said.
‘‘Theyearof1.5%from Covid is having
an impact,and this (3.9%)doesn’t include
theopt­in option for kerbside waste
collection.’’
Based on data fromStatisticsNew
Zealand, the Waimakariridistrict
population, as at June30, 2020,was 64,700.
It is expected to riseto78,400 in 2031
and hit100,000 by 2051.
Growth of 13,700 representsaround
4800new houses overthe nextdecade, Mr
Millward said.
To allowfor thisgrowth, the council
willbeconsulting on buildingcommunity
facilitiesfor Pegasus andWoodend,
upgradingthe Rangioralibraryand civic
precinct, and anew car­park building for
the RangioraTown Hall.
Feedback will alsobeinvited on the
Covid­19 response,climatechange and
sustainability, the threewaters review
and proposed upgrades,the District Plan
review, andwestRangiora road
improvements.
The upgrade of Skew Bridge,on
Skewbridge Road, hasalsobeen included
for later in theLTP.
Deliberationsweredue to be
completed today (Thursday),with the
draft 2021/31 LTPdue to go out for
consultation on March 6.
Vandals target commemorative tree
Readership: 47,000 weekly
Circulation: 30,150 copies delivered
to EVERY farm, RD, lifestyle block
and home inWaimakariri, Hurunui
&Kaikoura every Thursday.
By SHELLEY TOPP
Vandals have destroyed a
small commemorative tree
planted by Cust/West
Eyreton Garden Club
members.
The flowering dogwood
tree, donated by Cust’s
Querky Style and Roses, was
planted in the Jack Graham
Reserve in the Cust
Community Centre grounds
last October to mark the
club’s 70th anniversary.
Club committee member
Anna White, of Oxford, said
the tree had been snapped
off and the top half
discarded.
‘‘It is very disappointing
for this to happen. We had
such alovely day during the
planting ceremony.’’
The tree was vandalised
early in the New Year and
was reported to the
council’s Greenspace team.
It will replace the tree later
this year.
The council’s parks and
community assets officer,
Greg Barnard, said it was
disappointing to lose the
tree. ‘‘It was in aperfect spot
and areally nice tree.’’
Snapped off ... The planting of
the tree last October.
news
Robyn Bristow
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Waimakariri has capacity for roll growth
From Page 1
‘‘We continuetomonitor
actual andprojectedschoolaged
population growth in
order toplan for additional
schooling provisionas
required,”MsMarshallsays.
Under present zoning,
Woodend,Ravenswood and
Pegasus sit in theKaiapoi
HighSchool zone. Kaiapoi
HighSchool’s presentrollis
around 900 pupils.
PrincipalBruce Kearney
would havepreferred Mr
Doocey had spokenwithlocal
principalsbefore making a
public statement, as it hasthe
dangerofcreating
‘‘unrealisticexpectations’’.
‘‘This is not asimple thing
anditactuallyrequires quite
alot of research intocapacity
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andpopulation growth.’’
A50­yearplan was
prepared as part ofthe
school’s earthquakerebuild,
with planning in placeto
expandtoaroll of 1800 if
required.
‘‘Wecertainly have roomfor
growth,aswehavecapacity
for1100, and when we
approachthatwecan putina
newblock which wouldallow
foranother450.
‘‘Fromthe ministry’s
perspective,itismorecosteffectivetoadd
more
buildings to an existing
school, rather thanstarting
from scratch andbuild anew
school, where you need an
administration block,
gymnasium andsupport
services.’’
RangioraHighSchool is
Sunday21February, 2.00pm
Air Force Museum of New Zealand,
Christchurch
Bookings are essential through Eventbrite.com
beginningthe newschool year
with 1694pupils andhas room
formore, principal Karen
Stewart says.
Last year theschool
consultedwith itscommunity
to prepare aconsultation
document forthe Ministryof
Education,tostartwork on a
newplanfor the
redevelopment of Rangiora
High School.
Theministrywillbe
considering theschool’s
existing needs,building
repairsand development,as
well as potentialrollgrowth
andwhere newbuildings can
be built, shesays.
JaredKelly,the principal of
Pegasus BaySchool in
Pegasus Township, saidwhile
it would benicetohave anew
high school ‘‘on our
2095268
doorstep’’,the demographics
do notstack up.
‘‘Whenyou look around,
thereappears to be astrong
roll catchment with the
population growth, butthe
demographic coming into
Pegasus is olderand,
typically,the families coming
through arerenters, so they’re
transient.
‘‘Butit’s trickyfor usto
gauge, because anumberof
parentsmoveout,but still
work in thecity,sotheyoften
taketheir kidsintoschools in
thecity.’’
Pegasus Bay School’sroll
jumpedfrom280 to 380 in its
firstyearin2014,but has
sinceplateaued at around450
pupilsover thelastfew years,
‘‘sowe’renot really seeingthe
growth’’,MrKellysays.
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