News Monday, February 17, 2014
www.guardianonline.co.nz
■ DOG DAY OUT
Ashburton Guardian
3
■ SUBDIVISIONS
Private developers preferred
Too cute to walk
By Sue NewmaN
sue.n@theguardian.co.nz
Lillie the shih tzu gets carried away by all the excitement on offer at the Dog Day Out on Saturday. Hundreds of people headed to the Riverside Industrial Park for the free community event in Ashburton designed just for dogs – and their owners.
Dog Day Out showcased good canine care to those with a pooch or two. And they were there - some in all their finery including Suzie the Chihuahua/Jack Russell cross and Jeff, the Cairn Terrier/ Bichon cross. The Dog Day Out had dog grooming
demonstrations, competitions, stalls and free advice on offer. There was also a micro-chipping service and plenty of food and drink for the humans. Photo tetsuro MitoMo 150214-tM-139
Firefighters act over backyard burns By ToNi williamS
toni.w@theguardian.co.nz
The district’s volunteer fire brigades were busy with a number of minor calls over the weekend including two calls to illegal backyard burn-offs. Both the Ashburton and Methven volunteer fire brigades dealt with people over controlled burns in their backyards but without permits. The Ashburton crew was called to a Johnstone Street property on Saturday night,
just before 9pm to put out the fire, and Methven volunteers were called to a Colcord Place fire at 9.14pm. Methven Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Selwyn Allred said it was a timely reminder to people that fire restrictions were in force across Mid Canterbury. They came into effect in late January. Anyone caught lighting a prohibited fire without a permit faced prosecution or could be issued an instant fine of $500. There were strict conditions
around burning that people needed to be aware of and they could be found on the Ashburton District Council website www.ashburtondc.govt.nz Over the weekend, the Ashburton Volunteer Brigade were also called to Mitre 10 Mega on Saturday at 12.40am after the alarm system was triggered from an overheated light fitting - averting more damage. They also attended two medical emergencies, and at 4.07pm were called to a small crop fire at Wakanui sparked by over-
heated farm machinery. They were alerted to a twocar vehicle accident at Cambridge and Nelson Street yesterday but were not required. The Methven Volunteer Fire Brigade were called assist the Hororata and Darfield brigades on Saturday with a car accident on Harpers Road, near Lake Coleridge at 2pm. The occupant suffered minor injuries. The Rakaia Volunteer Fire Brigade had an early wake up at 1.46am on Saturday to help with a medical emergency.
Bees settle in maple tree There was a hive of activity around Ian and Mary Harrison’s property on Friday afternoon as a queen bee brought her minions to visit. The Wellington street couple were inundated with thousands of bees just following their leader on a later than usual summer jaunt. The swarm arrived just before 3pm, causing concerned parents to contact Hampstead School who had teachers in place to divert the children to the other side of the road, as bees flew drunkenly around. “There was a cloud of bees, just
bees everywhere,” Mr Harrison said. It was the third time a swarm had settled in their front section in the past five years and Mr Harrison joked “we are just nice people” as the attraction. However, it was the first time they had landed up in the Maple Tree, in the past they had settled lower in another bush. The Harrisons were waiting for apiarist Russell Smith to collect the swarm and were advised it was late in the season for a swarm - they usually moved around in The swarm of bees in a Hampstead tree. October.
Private enterprise rather than local authorities should be the driving force behind residential subdivisions, says Ashburton mayor Angus McKay. While the council is about to embark on another round of residential subdivision on its Albert Street land, Mr McKay said his philosophy was that housing subdivisions were better off in the hands of private developers. The council has owned the Albert Street land for many years, with subdivision starting in 2005 when there was a shortage of affordable sections in Ashburton. It initially sold four sections for an eco-friendly housing development and then went on to open up another 21 lots. Just one remains unsold today and the second and final stage that will see 29 sections come to the market, is awaiting resource consent. The council also owned 18 sections at Lake Hood, acquired in a cash for land deal struck with the Lake Hood Trust in 2009. Just five of those remain unsold. That was a one-off deal, said Mr McKay, that ensured Lake Hood and an area of reserve land remained in the community’s hands. When the deal was announced in October 2009, many ratepayers were outraged that the council was investing $3.7 million of ratepayers’ money in the project. At that time the park’s assets, including Lake Hood were estimated to carry a value of $23 million, with tradeable assets valued at $13 million. These transferred to the council. Mayor at the time, Bede O’Malley, described the council’s investment as one that would have huge benefits for the community across many generations. While he did not support the council involvement in residential subdivisions, Mr McKay said he did support the council’s involvement in industrial land subdivisions such as the North East Business Estate. “The industrial estate is different because the council did Riverside and that’s nearly all gone. This type of subdivision is about attracting new industry to Ashburton for the good of the community.” The council also owns 21 Glasgow lease sections in urban Ashburton. These can be freeholded on request.