North Canterbury News: April 18, 2024

18 North
NEWS
Canterbury News, April 18, 2024
Cara’s holiday touring
By ROBYN BRISTOW
Cara Luxmoore is using her tour bus skills
to offer teens from Kaiapoi and Rangiora
the chance to go to the Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and Spa for aday.
Wondering what to do with her teens
over the school holidays, she decided to
gauge interest in travelling to the resort
twice aweek on Tuesdays and Thursdays
during the holidays, to help out working
parents.
‘‘Hanmer Springs sprang to mind as one
of the obvious choices to take young
people to.
‘‘It’s awesome up there, and not every
one can afford full prices or the cost of
fuel to get there,’’ she says.
Cara, who has started up her own
company, is working under her mother’s
and step dad’s business PPS —
Personalised Passenger Services —ina
20­seater bus.
The ride, and apool pass is $65, or if
some just want to spend the day in the
town, it is $48.
While the service is aimed at high
school students, kids are also welcome,
but if they are under 14 they must be
accompanied by an adult over 18, Cara
says.
Her venture began this week, and it will
run Tuesday and Thursday next week.
She is also planning shuttle trips, called
SnowXpress, running from Woodend­
Rangiora, to Mt Hutt for the ski season.
‘‘I love skiing, Ilove Mt Hutt.
‘‘I want to combine my love for that with
my desire to enable people to access one
of the world top ski resorts, even if it is
just for the sight seeing,’’ says Cara.
She has lived in Rangiora since
September last year, working as atour bus
driver.
‘‘I have spent the summer delivering
cruise ship passengers into Christchurch
and taking them on inland tours to Mt
Cara Luxmoore
Cook, Tekapo, Geraldine, and Timaru etc.
‘‘I have recently signed up to work in the
summer foracompany called Oceania
Coachlines for larger overnight tours
throughoutthe South Island.
‘‘We do weddings, stag and hen parties,
wine tours, xmas parties —basically
anything people want us for, we can
accommodate.
‘‘We only have one shuttle at this stage,
but have big plans for the future of the
company.’’
Her driving background is in gold
mining as an underground driver, urban
bus driving, class 5truck and trailer for
the TAB, and tour driving around the
South Island.
‘‘I am super friendly, have alove for
people and Iamcaring and avery
experienced driver.
‘‘I haveclasses 1,2,3,4,5.’’
You can phone Cara on 02102579234 to
book atrip to Hanmer Springs on Tuesday
or Thursday next week.
More solar power
farmsproposed in NC
By DAVID HILL,
Local Democracy Reporter
North Canterbury could soon be lit up
with solar farms.
The Waimakariri District Council
has received resource consent
applications from three companies
looking to build solar farms in the
district, while the Hurunui District
Council has also received asolar farm
application.
MainPower Trust, North
Canterbury’s energy network, has
applied for resource consent to
construct asolar farm on a10hectare
site at Thongcaster Road at Eyrewell
Forest, to the north of Waimakariri
River.
When complete, the site is expected
to produce enough energy to power
1250 local homes via MainPower’s
distribution network, aMainpower
spokesperson said.
‘‘MainPower has been encouraged
by the support of the neighbours
surroundingthe proposed solar
farm.’’
There is no confirmed timeframe at
this stage for the construction.
AWaimakariri District Council
spokesperson said Mainpower
‘‘obtained affected party approval’’
from all 11 affected parties, so
notification was not required.
Auckland­basedLightyears Solar
Ltd has applied for aresource
consent to build an eight hectaresolar
farm at Swannanoa, near Rangiora,
with 9077 solar panels.
Acouncilspokesperson said the
application is on hold while more
information is sought from the
applicant.
No decision has been made on
whether the application will be
notified.
Lightyears Solar Ltd co­founder
and development manager Matt
Shanks said his company proposed
building ‘‘a mid­sized, dual use solar
farm’’. Construction is expected to
begin later this year, with
commissioning early next year.
‘‘The solar panel rows will be
spaced about five metres apart and
the landowner will graze animals
under the solar farm array.’’
He said the farm will generate six
megawatts of renewable energy,
which will mostly be consumed
locally ‘‘providing for some of
Rangiora’s daytime energy needs’’.
Mr Shanks said Lightyears Solar
has contacted the immediate
neighbours to the farm, as part of the
consent process.
‘‘We keep it low impact by keeping
the panels fairly low to the ground,
installing planting strips around the
farm, and ensuring there is plenty of
space between the rows for grazing
and continued pasture growth.’’
Aresource consent was received
last month from Australian company
Energy Bay Ltd to construct and
operate autility scale solar energy
farm on 80 hectares on the corner of
Upper Sefton Road and Beatties
Road, Sefton, north of Rangiora. The
Hurunui District Council also
received an application last month
from Far North Solar Farm Ltd for a
180.8 hectare solar farm at Waipara.
LDR is local body journalism cofunded
by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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