Western News: February 25, 2021

6
Thursday February 25 2021
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
WESTERN NEWS
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PETER AND CATHARINE EXCITED
TO BE RICCARTON PARK BOUND
Peter and Catharine Craig are on the
countdown to moving in to Riccarton Park
Retirement Village, and are very excited
by how close they’ll be to the track and
horses. They have both followed gallops
and harness racing around the world and
love the atmosphere around a big day.
They say they will enjoy both the village
community and being able to easily fit their
possessions into their new home.
When Peter and Catharine noticed that
Ryman had bought land to develop near the
Riccarton racecourse, they started thinking
afresh about a move from their home in
Hoon Hay Road.
Then Riccarton Park Sales Advisor Wendy
Kappler showed them the three-bedroom
townhouse floor plan. It included space
and importantly a large garage to meet
their storage and vehicle access needs.
Plus, there are the ‘horses’.
Peter is originally from Auckland and says
he is ‘dual coded’. He has been going
to harness racing and the gallops since
the days of Alexandra Park and Ellerslie
racecourse events in the 1960s. Both his
parents and grandparents were keen on
the sport in those days. His father’s cousin
Thayne Green was a part owner of Sunline,
a horse that went on to earn nearly $14
million in a race career that included two
Cox Plates.
The interest in racing and horse breeding
took place during a long career as an
accountant including seven years with The
Treasury and twenty five with IRD.
In the world of harness racing Peter’s had
ownership interests in several successful
harness horses that he either raced or bred.
He’s also researched and written about
the industry.
Catharine is a gardener, and was brought
up in the Isle of Thanet, Kent, a county also
known as ‘the garden of England’. She says
the couple met while both working for Inland
Revenue in Wellington and she has enjoyed
travelling to meet other horse racing fans.
That has included regular catchups for the
Inter Dominion Pacing Championship that
has been contested since 1936 in locations
including Perth, Adelaide, Christchurch,
Launceston, Melbourne, Auckland and
Sydney. It is fair to say they like travel
and adventure.
Ryman Healthcare’s work on a new
retirement village at the stunning
Riccarton Park location has been
progressing quickly and residents who have
signed up, including Peter and Catharine,
have been excited to see roofs in place and
cladding on the homes.
Peter reckons theirs is the fifth roof on.
“We’ve seen the floor plate go down, we’ve
seen the framing go up, we’ve seen the
roof framing go up... from the racecourse
actually.”
As New Zealand’s largest retirement village
operator, Ryman purchased a 5-hectare site
at Riccarton Park, off Steadman Road, and
is working on the first stage of townhouses
for occupation in 2021.
The facilities include an indoor swimming
pool, a movie theatre, café, hair and beauty
salons, a woodland forest walk as well as
special spectator decks looking out over
Riccarton Racecourse.
The village will provide multiple living
options. The plans includes one, two and
three bedroom apartments and two and
three bedroom townhouses. There will also
be assisted living in serviced apartments
and resthome, hospital and dementia care.
The village will create significant
construction jobs, as well as long-term
sustainable jobs for more than 160 staff.
rymanhealthcare.co.nz