North Canterbury News: January 27, 2022
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WOODEND TO PEGASUS FEATURE<br />
The <strong>North</strong> <strong>Canterbury</strong> <strong>News</strong>, <strong>January</strong> <strong>27</strong>, <strong>2022</strong><br />
Focus on community facilities<br />
By DAVID HILL<br />
Community facilities in Pegasus are high<br />
on the radar for WoodendSefton<br />
Community Board chairperson Shona<br />
Powell in <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
She says progressing the Pegasus<br />
Community Centre development and<br />
exploring the possibilities of ayouth<br />
space in the town are top priorities for<br />
the board in the year ahead.<br />
‘‘We want to make sure we make some<br />
progress on the community centre<br />
because it’s been promised and we need<br />
to ensure that it happens,’’ Ms Powell<br />
says.<br />
Anew Pegasus Community Centre was<br />
signalled in last year’s 2021/31<br />
Waimakariri Long Term Plan, with<br />
council staff given the goahead to<br />
acquire land in Pegasus and Ravenswood<br />
for the future development of community<br />
facilities.<br />
Asum of $4.5 million has been set aside<br />
for the purchase of land and the<br />
construction of a385 square metre<br />
community centre in Pegasus, with work<br />
expected to begin in 2024.<br />
Afurther $4.3 million was set aside to<br />
purchase land in Ravenswood, with the<br />
council to consider building an 800<br />
square metre facility in its next LTP<br />
deliberations in 2024.<br />
For now Pegasus has atemporary<br />
community centre, which comprises two<br />
leased shops in the town centre.<br />
While council funding for ayouth<br />
facility in Pegasus has been set aside for<br />
several years, making progress has<br />
proven to be achallenge, Ms Powell says.<br />
‘‘It’s abit of achicken and egg situation<br />
because we don’t know what the youth<br />
want. Do we put it beside the community<br />
centre or do we do something completely<br />
different?<br />
‘‘It’s definitely time that we started<br />
listening to the youth, but sometimes you<br />
ask them what they want and say skate<br />
park, but for some young people skate<br />
parks aren’t particularly engaging.’’<br />
The Pegasus lake appears to be a<br />
particular attraction for local youth, but<br />
engaging with them is achallenge as they<br />
leave the area for high school either in<br />
Kaiapoi or in Christchurch.<br />
New community facilities for the area<br />
is essential to meet the demands of rapid<br />
growth in Woodend, Ravenswood and<br />
Pegasus, Ms Powell says.<br />
Last year there were 214 consents<br />
issued for new houses in Woodend<br />
including Ravenswood, the highest for<br />
any town in the district, and 147 for<br />
Pegasus, out of atotal of 928.<br />
In 2020 there were 319 consents issued<br />
for new houses in Woodend, Ravenswood<br />
and Pegasus.<br />
Woodend and Pegasus both of<br />
populations of around 4000 people.<br />
‘‘It’s pretty amazing. It’s areally high<br />
growth area, which means the planning<br />
has to be happening now to cope with<br />
that growth and that’s abig focus for the<br />
board,’’ Ms Powell says.<br />
Finding lasting solutions for State<br />
Boom town ... Pegasus continues to grow.<br />
PHOTOS: FILE<br />
Time to deliver ... Shona Powell will be<br />
making sure Mayor Dan Gordon and his<br />
fellow councillors keep to their commitments<br />
to build community facilities.<br />
Highway 1issues, pedestrian safety,<br />
cycle ways and algal blooms in Lake<br />
Pegasus are also priorities as the board<br />
looks to the future.<br />
‘‘One of the challenges for us is that<br />
Woodend, Ravenswood and Pegasus are<br />
treated as separate entities and we don’t<br />
really have adefined town centre like<br />
Rangiora, Kaiapoi and Oxford.’’<br />
Another concern is aperceived lack of<br />
representation for Woodend,<br />
Ravenswood, Pegasus and Pegasus<br />
around the council table.<br />
Last year’s Waimakariri District<br />
Council representation review opted to<br />
stick with the status quo, with four<br />
councillors elected from across the<br />
KaiapoiWoodend ward.<br />
For now Kaiapoi has the larger<br />
population, with 12,000 people, but Ms<br />
Powell says it is up to residents to put<br />
their hands up ahead of October’s local<br />
body elections.<br />
21<br />
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