SOUTHERN VIEW
Latest Christchurch news at www.
Tuesday June 27 2017
.kiwi
Riccarton bus lounge bylaw plan hits snag By Bridget Rutherford A BYLAW to curb anti-social behaviour at the Riccarton bus lounge would provide little benefit, and could be in breach of the Bill of Rights, a city council report says. The report on whether the anti-loitering bylaw idea had merit has been prepared for the Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board to consider at its meeting this afternoon. It said a bylaw would not be appropriate to address the issues, wouldn’t offer any advantages over existing enforcement tools, and would likely be costly. It also said a bylaw could be in breach of the Bill of Rights Act, because it would regulate the movement of people, or their access to public places. “Case law suggests the council could potentially be exposed to a legal challenge as a result,” it said. Local police and the board asked staff to investigate introducing the bylaw to try and prevent youths from loitering
ISSUES: An antiloitering bylaw would be difficult and costly to implement, city council staff say. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN near the bus lounge and Division St. Since opening in 2015, the lounge had been a hot-spot for trouble-causing youths. Nearby businesses have had enough of them loitering and intimidating their customers. The report said a bylaw would not enable police to issue instant fines, so it provided little advantage to the tools they already had. City council staff were also
looking at whether the Trespass Act could be used to address the issue. But the report said it should only be used in “sufficiently serious circumstances” and could just push the problem elsewhere. Then, any breach of a trespass notice would result in a prosecution in the district or youth courts. The board will consider the report, and what to do with the
information at today’s meeting. A working group, made up of city council staff, HalswellHornby-Riccarton Community Board members, and representatives from nearby businesses and Westfield Riccarton, has been formed to come up with ways to deal with the loitering issue. It was looking into other options, including turning off the free Wi-Fi at the bus lounge, and installing security cameras.
5
In Brief NEW PLAY EQUIPMENT A new swing and slide will be installed at Picton Reserve in Riccarton. In December last year, the Central Riccarton Residents’ Association presented a deputation to the Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board requesting a swing and slide at Picton Reserve suitable for children under 10. The board allocated $11,600 to the purchase of the new equipment. CYCLEWAY UPDATE City council staff are currently working on the scheme design for the South Express cycleway’s Gilberthorpe to Templeton section of the route. This work follows on from the previous scheme option for that section of the route from Hagley Park to Gilberthorpe. Staff will then brief the HalswellHornby-Riccarton Community Board on the designs prior to public consultation. YOUTH REPORT Tomorrow the annual Youth Custody Index report will be released by students from Christ’s College and St Thomas of Canterbury. Christ’s College student Nuku Tau was involved in the project last year. He said the project is run by a group of senior students and is a collation of information regarding the state of youth in custody in New Zealand – both good and bad.
seconds | samples | clearance
find your new object of desire at our christchurch outlet store. great selection of furniture, gifts, home decor & kitchenware all reduced to clear
opening this saturday! 43 garlands road, woolston mon - fri 9am - 5.30pm sat - 9am - 5pm sun - 10am - 5pm www.nood.co.nz