Well, 2015 is under way. Happy New Year to everyone! Looking back over last year we can see the usual mixture of progress and setbacks. The biggest setback was the flooding that occurred in the early part of the year, following the wettest weather pattern for 40 years on top of very high water tables. Some houses were flooded and there were septic tanks rendered inoperable. The Council have since done a lot of flood remediation work, but much remains to be done. This will not come cheap so there will be a budgeting challenge this year. Earthquake recovery continues to dominate, of course. The Kaiapoi town centre continues to make progress, the sale of the former BNZ being good news as was the completion of the Trousselot Park playground and skate park and the start of new commercial buildings. The most obvious areas for redevelopment are in Williams Street on the north bank of the river and there is still a lot of infrastructure repair to be done, although we are making significant progress with the latter. The new Ruataniwha Kaiapoi Civic Centre, including the library, council service centre and arts space, will be opened this month. The Museum, also within it, will be opened later. It is good to see things really happening in the Rangiora town centre. Three new retail buildings are under construction following earlier new shops on the town centre fringes. The Farmers, Presbyterian Church and MainPower sites have finally been cleared and the Junction Hotel facade saved. The Red Lion corner realignment is taking shape and will be followed by turning the High Street back to two-way traffic. There is still some demolition likely to happen in central Rangiora, but hopefully any rebuilds will happen quickly. Oxford lost one shop to earthquake issues. The replacement is almost complete - but in the meantime five new shops have appeared, along with the start of the new supermarket. Things are really happening there! Also in Oxford, and of course Rangiora, the two town halls are due to be reopened next month after strengthening and additions. Excitement is growing in both communities. The reconstruction of the war memorial arch in West Eyreton is almost finished. The other earthquake-damaged war memorial was in Cust, but that was fixed some time ago. We need to be aware that some residents are still going through insurance-and-repair issues in various parts of the District, mainly in and around Kaiapoi. A major job for us in the Waimakariri community in the coming year will be further work on determining the future of the residential red zones in Kaiapoi and Pines-Kairaki. The CanvasRedZones engagement last year produced lots of positive ideas from you but there is still much to be done in planning and programming. I think the possibilities are exciting but the Government has still to reveal its thinking about future governance and funding. On a completely different matter, many, especially those north of the Ashley, are awaiting the completion of the new bridge! The growth of the Southbrook business centre and new residential areas in and around Kaiapoi, Pegasus, Rangiora, Mandeville and, soon, Woodend, all suggest a future of progress for Waimakariri. Historic times!
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:04:53 +0000
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