Thinking of selling

ambivalent towards the health of the stream and its tributaries and today we are paying the price for our indifference to this important part of our ecology.

The future development of Dairy Flat as a high density suburb will be the final nail in the coffin for this valuable asset unless the issue is addressed head on.

The boss once said to me don’t come to me with problems unless you have answers so the following are some ideas that should be discussed.

The Green Road Farm which we all own should be developed rapidly and contoured to mitigate heavy run off. A large amount of reforestation should be undertaken including wet land planting in the flood zone. Be aware that the catchment for the Rangitopuni is massive, extending beyond the Dairy Flat School and well up Bawden Road towards the Northern Motorway.

The Rangitopuni has for reasons unknown formed a near circle at the Robinson Road bridges with the Mahoenui adding pressure at this point and this should be straightened to allow proper flow. Imagine one two-lane bridge instead of two one lane bridges.

If we do nothing now we can say goodbye to this important part of our landscape and learn to live with further devastation that will follow.

By Owen Aspden, 27 February 2023