Ashburton Courier: August 25, 2022

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COUNCILBRIEF ASHBURTONDC.GOVT.NZ/NEWS 5BaringSquareWest, Ashburton |POBox 94, Ashburton, NewZealand 7740 | Telephone (03) 307 7700 | Website ashburtondc.govt.nz Baring Square ready forbig upgrade Tenders will soon be called for the upgrade of Baring Square East, which involves creating anew oneway road infront of Council’s new library and civic building and a major replantand renovation of the squareitself. Around $3 million has been set aside to breathe new life into the area, which Council hopes will be better used by residentsand hostmorepublic events. Plans for the area were approved by Councillors recently and Chief Executive Hamish Riach said some of the square’s original features, like the whale bones, would stay, while new paths and native plantings wouldbeadded. “About two-thirds ofthe money we have putasidewill go to creating thenew road, with angle parking and apaved plaza entrancetothe newcivic building. Therest will be spent on rejuvenating the square, which will keep its oval paths and water feature. “The natives, perennial and annual plantings aredesigned to giveyear-round colour and tie in with the work we have done in theCBD,and followfeedback from thepublic.” Landscape architects areworking through thefinal details of the plan and it shouldgo outfor tender in the next fewweeks. “Ideally the upgrade of Baring SquareEast will align with the completionofthe new Ashburton Library and Civic Centre, Te Pātaka akā Tuhituhi andTeWharoa aHine Paaka, which should befinished around themiddle of next year.” Councillors have also approved applying for aresource consent to relocate the South African Boer War memorial to Baring SquareWestaspart of theupgrade. Mr Riach said resource consent was needed forthe relocation as thememorial hadheritagestatus in theDistrictPlan. “That means the application will be handled by an independent planner and likely to be publicly notified, so members of the communitywill be able to havetheir say on thematter.” The Boer War memorial was unveiled in 1903 tohonour soldiers ofthe district that had died inthe conflict. The red granite obelisk also commemorated the coronation of Edward VII. Mr Riach said Council had already talked with the Ashburton RSA and the New Zealand Defence Force about how to ensure asensitive relocation toBaring SquareWest, wherethe district’s other war memorials arelocated. “They have noobjections and we also plan to contact the descendants ofthe six soldiers whose names are on the memorial.” The resource application will detail how the memorial could be relocated safely and howitwould look at the newsite. It should be notedthatthe memorial has previously been relocated in1978 within Baring Squarefromits originalsite. The memorial was designed by Christchurch architect Samuel Hurst Seager following the Boer War and it was hoped that the obelisk would be continually improved over the years and wouldhaveaneducational value. The South African War was the first overseas conflict toinvolve New Zealand troops and was fought between the BritishEmpireand the Boer South African Republic,who resented the British rule. SeveralhundredNew Zealand troops and their horses sailed to Cape Town in late 1899tofight, wherethe ordeal wasmade much worse byextreme temperatures, diseaseandtheBoers’guerrillawartactics. Of the sixsoldierscommemoratedonthe Baring Square East memorial, one was killed in action, one wasaccidentally killed by ahorse, another died of injuriesfroma rail accident, twodied of enteric feverand the last was killed while trying to escape from aprisonerofwar camp. The six are also among the 79 soldiers commemorated onaBoer War panel at the back of the Queen Victoria Memorial in Christchurch. Thursday,25August2022 |ISSUE 93 Detour in placeduring rehab work The first big roading job of the new year begins in early September, when 3.16km of Arundel Rakaia GorgeRoadand 800m of Ashburton StaveleyRoadare rehabilitated. Work overfour sites will cost around$1.2 million and is prior to other rehabilitation work on Barford Road, Forks Road, Mayfield Valetta Road and Thompsons Track. Adetourwill be in placeonArundel Rakaia Gorge Road, from Lochheads Road to Tramway Road,from5September until 9 November,onweekdaysfrom6.30amuntil 7pm. Contractorswho arereconstructing the road are advising motorists toallow additional time fortheir journeyusing the detour route. Council Infrastructure Services Group ManagerNeil McCann said atotalof$3.7m would be spent inthe next 12 months on rehabilitating damaged roads on the network. “The roads chosen have been identified by our roading engineers astop priority, based on their condition and the number of failures reported onthem. “We plan to rehabilitate 37km of sealed roadsinthe next three years, and another 23km inthe following three years. Our roading network is continuously being assessed to makesurethe worstroads are fixed first, given the limited money and resourceswehaveavailable.” Mr McCann said that sections of Arundel Rakaia Gorge Road and Ashburton Staveley Road were at the end of their life and need to be renewed. “They have taken abeating by the large volumeoftraffic thathas used them over their lifetime.” SarahMosley-GMPeople &Capability Our team, our purpose -why notjoin us? As themanagerofPeople& CapabilityatCouncil, my role and thatofmyteam, is to support and work with ourmanagersand teamstoprovide thebestservices and placesfor our community membersand visitorstoenjoy. When asked why I like working for Council, my list is long. But to summarise, it’s agreat feeling being abletowork in my desired profession in an organisation that wantstodoits very bestfor thecommunity. With local body elections in early October, there will be anew group of elected members deciding our work priorities and levels ofservice. There are also anumber ofgovernment-led reforms thatwill impactour teamand services thatCouncil will provideinthe future. During the Covid-19 lockdown, our focus remained to perform all core activities, yetfor those teamsunable to operate likenormal, their focus shifted to providing community welfareneeds. We proudly redeployed lifeguards, parking wardens and horticulturalists to assist at the Community Based Assessment Centre with full medical cleans, purchasing groceries for the elderly and dropping off prescriptions to those in need. More recently, when faced with asignificant rainfall event, our team oftrained staff put on their civil defence hats and took the lead in an emergency response. It’s agreat feeling being part ofan organisation that achieves, delivers and provides the community so many big and little things, some of whichare takenfor granted. So if you’re at a career crossroads (and youlikethe ideaofworking fora community-focused organisation and our values of"do what’sright, makeit happen, work as one and respectevery voice" align toyours) please look at our website to see what positions are available. We might not have your perfect role available right now, but across theyear, we have anumber of roles suitable for people joining or rejoining the workforce. We have summer student positions to provideuniversity studentswithreallife experience and we have anumber of professional roles that you would find in alarge city organisation. 1 Thursday,25August2022 |ISSUE 93 ashburtondc.govt.nz
Satisfactionsurveyinfluencedbyroads Almost all residents that took part in the Annual Residents’ Survey for Ashburton District Council perceive thatthe districtisabout the same or better as aplace tolive than itwas threeyears ago. Although Council’s provision and maintenance of recreation and leisure activities and facilities, opportunities for grants and funding, community events, social services and economic development continue to be very strong areas ofperformance, satisfaction levels around the roading network decreased significantly. Council’s overall performance dipped by eight points to66per cent in 2022 compared to 74 per cent in 2021. Chief Executive Hamish Riach said it was disappointing to see adrop inoverall satisfaction. “But we cansee aclear link between how people feel about roads and our overall performance, and we’re committed to addressing the issue of our battered and ageing roadingnetwork. “Council has allocated $1.7 million from theforestryreserve to awork programme which will allow ustorehabilitate key roads, rather than trying to hold poor sectionsofpavementtogether with short term repairs.” Satisfaction with sealed roads decreased 14 points to 24 per cent satisfaction and unsealed roads by seven points to46 per cent over the past year. “Toomany potholes”was statedasamainconcern of those surveyed. “Not onlyisour roading networkthe fifth largest in New Zealand, but itisheavily used. When you add the increasing frequency of extreme weathereventsinto Morethan 40 submissions have been received so far onCouncil's draft development planfor the Ashburton Airport, with the deadline for community feedback Tuesday 30 August. Council is envisioning amore active and financially sustainable airport, with three new hangar precincts on the 100-hectare site, includingahangar-home area where people can live inthe same building as their aircraft. Adrop-in session at the airportrecently to shareinformation about the development plan attractedagood crowd, reflectingthe growingpopularity of the facility. The long-term planlooksatfuture growth andhowtheairportmightservethedistrict overthe next 30 yearsand Council is keen to getasmuch feedback as possible. Of the submissionsreceived so far, thereis overall support forthe draft development plan and its goals. There isvery strong support (over90per cent of submitters)for building more recreational hangar space themix,itleavesuswithaheftychallenge,” Mr Riach said. The issue isn’t just confined to the Ashburton District. “Adverse weather events are badly affecting roading networks right across the country. Water isthe enemy of roads and havingsome of thewettest monthson record is certainly takingits toll.” According to KeyResearch, who produced theresidents’ survey, councils across New Zealand have seen overall satisfaction levels trend downwardoverthe past year. Satisfaction with the Ashburton council’s building services and council staff also dipped. Mr Riach said those drops were likely relatedtothe current building boom, with staff struggling to meet timeframes for consents,and council’smandatesaround Feedback on airport plan welcome until 30 August Above: Around 80 people attended the drop-in day at the airport. in the locations proposed. Whilethere is general supportfor hangar homes, views aremoremixed about how manyofthese should be built. Submittersalso support planstomakethe airportmorefinancially self-sufficient,soit would needlessinput from ratepayers via acontribution from general rates. The consultation document and submission form can be found at ashburtondc.govt.nz/airport. Covid-19and vaccination. Overall,residents were most satisfied with thepublic library service, cemeteries, and Ashburton Domain, with a significant increase noted in satisfaction with playgrounds. Satisfaction with rubbish and recycling hasimprovedwith morethaneightin10 residents(85%)satisfied. The 2021/22 Annual Residents' Survey wasconducted on arepresentativecrosssection of the community and wascarried out infour stages throughout the year, both online and in hardcopy. Thesample size of the survey was 871 people across thethe districtwith amargin of error of +/- 3.32%. The Annual Residents' Survey can be viewedonour website, ashburtondc.govt. nz. COMMUNITYNOTICEBOARD UPCOMING MEETINGS Meetings areheld in the Council Chambers, 137 Havelock Street, (unless otherwise advised). Methven Community Board - Monday5September, 10.30amatMt HuttMemorialHall Council Meeting -Wednesday 7 September,1.00pm (live-streamed) Council Agencies (six-month reports) -Wednesday 14 September, 9.30am (live-streamed) Council Hearings(Ashburton Airport Development Plan) - Wednesday 14 September,1.00pm (live-streamed) Council Meeting -Wednesday 21 September,1.00pm(live-streamed) Council Activity Briefings - Wednesday 28 September, 9.30am Audit &Risk Committee - Wednesday 28 September, 1.30pm (live-streamed) Council Hearings(Stormwater Bylaw) -Thursday 29 September, 9.00am (live-streamed) PUBLICNOTICES PROPOSED ROAD CLOSURES Pursuant to the Transport (Vehicular TrafficRoadClosure) Regulations 1965, notice is herebygiven that the Ashburton District Council is proposingtotemporarily close the following roads forthe purposes described - Roadsproposedtobe closed: •EASTSTREET,fromMoore Street to HavelockStreet •TANCRED STREET,fromEastStreet to CassStreet •BURNETTSTREET,from EastStreet to CassStreet Purpose: To enable the holdingof acommunity event –Ashburton MarketDay Periodofclosure: From 7.00am until 6.00pm on Monday, 26 September2022 Objections: By 4.00pm on Monday, 29 August 2022 Road proposed to be closed: WINSLOW WILLOWBYROAD,from the Longbeach Road intersection to approximately 500m from the intersection withState Highway 1 Purpose: To enable the Ashburton Car Club to hold the Winslow WillowbyRoadStandingQuarter Mile Sprint Period of closure:From9.00amuntil 4.00pm on Saturday,10September 2022 Objections: By 4.00pm on Wednesday,31August2022 Date change: Thisevent and proposed road closurewas previously scheduledfor 3 September2022. Objections: Any person objectingto the proposals above should lodge noticeoftheirobjectionand the groundsfor theirobjection in writing by post or email to theCouncil, 5BaringSquare West, Ashburton, by the date noted. NEILMCCANN Group Manager InfrastructureServices RUBBISH AND RECYCLING WINDSTRAPS: METHVEN Our teamwill be installingwindstrapsin the Methven collectionareaonMonday 29 August.Ifyou have awheelie bin without awindstrap,pleaseput it outat the kerbsideby7.30am,evenifitisn’t full. The straps help keep lids shut on windy days, even whenbins blowover. They’re speciallydesignedtobeundone as thebin is pickedupand emptied. There’snochargefor thewindstraps. COUNCIL OFFICE 5Baring Square West Mon,Tue, Wed &Fri 8.30am -5pm Thursday9am -5pm ASHBURTONPUBLIC LIBRARY 180 Havelock Street,Ashburton 7700 Mon -Fri 9.00am -8.00pm Sat10am -1pm | Sun 1pm -4pm EA NETWORKSCENTRE 20 River Terrace Mon -Fri 6am-9pm (pools 7pm, gym8pm) Sat&Sun 7am-7pm (pools 5pm, gym6pm) ASHBURTON ARTGALLERY& ASHBURTON MUSEUM 327 WestStreet 10am -4pm daily ashburtondc.govt.nz Thursday,25August2022 |ISSUE 93 2
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Ashburton Courier: August 25, 2022

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