Clutha Country News Feed

CLUTHA GOLD TRAIL - FOLLOWUP FORUM

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Clutha District Council Media Release
Thursday 26 April 2012

Follow up forum for Lawrence-Beaumont Trail Opportunities Group

Clutha District Council will host a follow-up forum in Lawrence next month to further identify and prioritise key community projects and business developments arising from the Clutha Gold Trail.

District Development Manager Jill Borland said the initial forum held in November 2011 was well attended by the local community.

“Those who attended the first forum identified a huge number of opportunities that the cycle trail could bring for the local community,” Ms Borland said. “This second forum aims to further the initial work to identify and start to prioritise key community projects and business developments.”

Ms Borland said the follow-up forum would be held at the Lawrence Golf Club on Tuesday 8 May from 7.00pm. The forum would include a range of speakers, an interactive workshop, and would also aim to cover:

• The Trail – a construction update and market focus (presentation by Clutha Gold Trail Trust).

• Understanding the market (presentation by Rail Trail operator).

• Analysing the information gathered at Forum 1 (interactive session leading on from first forum). This will include classifying private enterprise versus community projects and beginning to prioritise identified community projects.

• Regulations and Consents (presentation by CDC Regulatory Services).

• Partnerships and Alliances.

There is no charge to attend the forum. However, RSVPS for catering and workshop organisation purposes are requested by noon on Friday 4 May 2012 to jeanette.paterson@cluthadc.govt.nz

Construction of the 73km cycle trail, which will follow the Clutha River from Roxburgh to Lawrence, is expected to be completed late this year.

ENDS

For further information/comment, please contact:
Jill Borland
District Development Manager
Phone 03 419 0200

OWAKA DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY MEETING

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Clutha District Council will support a public meeting in Owaka next month to help identify the future ideas and opportunities for the local community.

District Development Manager Jill Borland said the community meeting had been stimulated by the Owaka Development Group in response to the need for a community asset map, and for the area to be “dressed in its Sunday best” prior to the 150th anniversary of settlement in The Catlins in 2015.

Ms Borland, who will be facilitating the interactive meeting, said it also aimed to:

• Identify people with an interest in the development of the Owaka area and establish a communication network.

• Identify and record community skills, interests, resources, stakeholder groups and facilities in the area.

• Brainstorm the future needs and opportunities of the Owaka area.

“Follow up meetings will be held to tease out potential community projects, to prioritise action and identify community leadership for these future projects,” Ms Borland said.

“It is envisaged that a long-term community plan will result and this plan will enable the community to make future recommendations to Council about priorities for the Owaka area in line with identified needs.”

The community meeting will be held at the Owaka Memorial Community Centre on Tuesday 15 May from 7pm. All local residents, as well any anyone else with an interest in the future development of the area, are welcome to attend.

To assist with catering the Owaka Development Group would appreciate confirmation of attendance to one of the following: Alex de Boer ph:415 8799, Suzanne Carruth ph:415 8110, Mike McPhee ph:415 8519 or Steve Clarke ph:415 8558.

For further information/comment, please contact:
Jill Borland
District Development Manager
Phone 03 419 0200

Owaka Development Group contacts :
Alex de Boer phone: 415 8799 email: alex@wealthcreators.co.nz
Suzanne Carruth phone: 415 8110 email: suzanne.carruth@telford.ac.nz
Mike McPhee phone: 415 8519 email: mamc@ruralinzone.net.nz
Steve Clarke phone: 415 8558 email: smclarke@xtra.co.nz

COMMUNITY SUPPORT SOUGHT FOR CELL TOWER INSTALLATION

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The Clutha District Development Board has agreed to provide up to $3,000 support towards the installation of a new cell tower near Papatowai, and is now seeking forward contributions from the community to assist with preparation works.

Tourism Catlins recently made a successful application to the Vodafone Community Cell Site Request Scheme for two cell sites in The Catlins – one at the northern end (Clutha District) and one at the southern end (Southland District). Construction of the north Catlins community site is dependent upon construction of the scheduled Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) site in Owaka.

The priority for the northern Catlins site is to provide coverage to the Papatowai township and the surrounding stretch of the Southern Scenic Route; a key tourism route, and also to part of the Tahakopa Valley if this is possible.

District Development Manager Jill Borland said the community tower scheme also depended on support from Council and the local community to enable installation costs to be minimised. Community towers are constructed using recycled materials from other Vodafone towers which have been upgraded.

Earlier this month, Council supplied radios and also arranged for a helicopter to support Vodafone’s initial site inspections of the northern Catlins cell site.

The District Development Board last week endorsed the $1,000 spent on helicopter services to scope potential sites, and also agreed to provide up to $3,000 for other expenses related to the installation of the northern Catlins tower.

Ms Borland said Vodafone would carry out all of the technical processes in regards to installation and getting the site activated. But there were a number of other ways the community could help such as assistance with civil works during the build phase. This could include:

• Contractor concessions.
• Community working parties to assist with scrub clearing or digging.
• Supply of machinery.

Any local businesses or community groups prepared to assist should contact Ms Borland by emailing jill.borland@cluthadc.govt.nz or phone 03 419 0247. Those who register their interest will be contacted once build dates are confirmed.

Ms Borland said that at this stage the northern Catlins cell site was expected to be constructed in Summer 2012 – at the same time, or just after, construction of the Owaka Rural Broadband Initiative cell site.

Initially the new Catlins Community Cell Sites will provide only mobile coverage. However, once erected they will then become part of Vodafone’s upgrade planning cycle and future development could enable broadband service as well.

MILTON SWIMMING POOL REOPENS

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Clutha District Council Media Release
Friday 10 February 2012

Milton swimming pool reopens

Clutha District Council is pleased to advise that construction of the new changing rooms at the Milton Swimming Pool is now complete, and the pool reopened to the public today.

The project includes new male and female changing rooms, a new unisex family changing room, as well as an upgraded entrance/reception area.

The contract awarded for the project had been based on a 14-week construction period which should have seen pool reopened before Christmas 2011. However, ongoing drainage issues arose which meant the reopening had to be delayed to ensure the new changing rooms would function properly.

District Swimming Pools Supervisor Holly Ramsay said Council appreciated that the delay in reopening had been very frustrating for the local community. However, she said the finished result would provide a much higher level of comfort for swimming pool users.

The pool reopened at 3pm today, with normal hours resuming from tomorrow as follows:

Monday - Friday 6:00am - 9:00am
12:00pm -1:30pm
1:30pm - 4.30pm
4:30pm – 6:00pm Lane Swimming
Lane Swimming
Public Swimming
CLOSED

6:00pm - 7.30pm
7:30pm – 8:30pm Public Swimming
Lane Swimming

Saturday & Sunday 1:00pm - 4.30pm
4:30pm – 6:00pm
Public Swimming
Lane Swimming

KERBSIDE RECYCLING AND RUBBISH COLLECTION STARTS APRIL 2012

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Clutha District Council Media Release
Friday 3 February 2012

New fortnightly kerbside recycling and rubbish collection starts April

A new fortnightly recycling and rubbish collection for the Clutha District starts in April, with new recycling wheelie bins being delivered from next week.

Manager District Assets Jules Witt said that from April 2012, Clutha District Council wheelie bin customers will put out their existing green wheelie bin for household waste one week, and their new yellow-lidded wheelie bin for recyclables the next.

Mr Witt said the new yellow-lidded recycling wheelie bins will be delivered progressively throughout February to all existing Clutha District Council wheelie bin customers. “But wait until your normal collection day in the week starting 9 April before putting it out for collection.”

A brochure explaining exactly what can and can’t be recycled, as well as a calendar outlining which bin will be collected each week, will be included with the new bins when they are dropped off to customers.

It is expected that all the new yellow-lidded recycling wheelie bins will be delivered by 5 March. Any existing wheelie bin customers who haven’t received a new bin by then should contact Council.

Other key points about the new kerbside recycling and rubbish collection service:

• Yellow-lidded recycling wheelie bins will be collected each fortnight on your normal collection day starting the week of 9 April.

• Your green wheelie bin will continue to be used for general waste only. From the week starting 2 April, green wheelie bins will be collected fortnightly on your normal collection day.

• Glass will be excluded from the recycling collection because of the significant costs involved in sorting and collecting this material.

• The kerbside recycling service is being rolled out at no extra cost to ratepayers. The ‘Recycling Collection’ charge on your rates bill will not be levied separately next financial year.

The new kerbside collection service is being operated by Delta, which will provide Council’s solid waste management services from 2 April.

More information about the new fortnightly kerbside recycling and rubbish collection service is available online at www.cluthadc.govt.nz/rubbishandrecycling.htm

For further information/comment, please contact:
Jules Witt
Manager District Assets
Phone: 03 419 0200