Latest news with #Ashburton
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Red tape delays cheap fuel in Canterbury town
The proposed Waitomo site in Tinwald. Photo: Susan Sandys Waitomo Group is planning on disrupting Ashburton's fuel market by selling cheaper petrol. However, the Hamilton-based self-service fuel retail company may be delayed by a ''frustrating'' consent process. In 2022, it got Ashburton District Council land use consent for a State Highway 1 site opposite the Ashburton Domain, but did not apply to ECan for resource consent after engaging with the regional council's pre-application service. Chief executive Simon Parham said the company had now identified a ''promising site'' at Tinwald, the former Z station on the highway. It aimed to start building there later this year, however, it would depend on getting resource consent. ''As a market disruptor, Waitomo is committed to bringing fairer fuel prices to regions burdened by disproportionately high costs. Ashburton has been on our radar for some time, and we've looked at several site options,'' Parham said. ''We've identified a promising site, but the consenting process has been both frustrating, costly and onerous, which is ironic since it was previously a service station.'' High fuel prices is a common gripe of many Mid Cantabrians. A comparison on the Gaspy app confirms the district often is often more expensive than other Canterbury areas. The lowest per litre priced 91 fuel in Mid Canterbury on Tuesday was 247.8 (NPD Self Serve Ashburton and Tinwald), compared to 239.1 at Timaru (Tasman Fuels Self Serve) and 239.7 at Christchurch. The lowest Christchurch price was at Pak 'n Save Moorhouse, which was slightly lower than Waitomo Fitzgerald, at 239.9. The cost of 91 at Z in Ashburton was 255.9, the same as Z Rolleston, but higher than Z Caroline Bay in Timaru and Z in Geraldine at 249.9, and Z Carlton Corner in Christchurch at 251.9. The cost of 91 at BP in Ashburton was 255.9, the same as BP Rolleston, but higher than BP Timaru 249.9 and BP Moorhouse Ave 251.9.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Damage to Ashburton Swimming Pool sparks urgent repairs
A community swimming pool in south Devon is undergoing repairs due to significant Swimming Pool said contractors identified "lots of cracks" at the deep end of the pool, causing the wall to shift and leak. Ms Wood said the community pool has spent more than £50,000 on an "extensive rebuild of the deep end wall".Chair of trustees Lucy Wood said due to the issue, they lost between 1,200 and 1,800 litres of water a day last year which had been a "big cost". "It is quite a significant leak that has added on a huge cost," she said. "Every cubic meter we lost in water we have had to replace, heat and balance it with chemicals."That has been a really big challenge for us for the last couple of years since discovering these significant leaks."Trustees called in a national swimming pool leak team to investigate and after digging behind the cracked wall, they found the damage was more extensive than they originally anticipated. She said once the repairs were complete and there were no further leaks, they needed to heat the water and balance the chemicals which can take up to three weeks. 'Use it or lose it' She said the safety of their visitors was "paramount".The pool is run by volunteers after it was taken over by the local community in 2016. Ever since has been supported and funded by the people of Wood said the funding has been "vital", adding Ashburton Town Council also gave money to contribute towards this year's repairs."Without the community support, the pool doesn't exist, and it wouldn't be able to open," she said. "The pool has to be used, it's a use it or lose it. We love to see people swimming in there."
RNZ News
29-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Resident has to travel to cemetery for safe drinking water
Ashburton's Lal Mulligan makes a weekly trip to the Ashburton Cemetery to fill up water containers as her private bore supply is at risk from high nitrate levels and E coli. Photo: LDR / Jonathan Leask Lal Mulligan wants water she can drink from her tap. At the moment she travels from her home on Keenans Road in north-east Ashburton to the cemetery with plastic containers to source water from the treated town supply. Mulligan, who is concerned around high nitrates and E coli in her private bore supply, has been calling on the Ashburton District Council to extend drinking and wastewater pipes to the north-east - home to about 100 households - for years. Mulligan accused the council of turning their backs on the North-East community, asking "where's our water" when she presented her submission on the 2024-34 long-term plan submission. Now the council has come knocking. Council infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said the detailed design for a drinking water network in the whole of the northeast area had been done. Extensions will be carried out in increments, and only if there is landowner support, he said. The council would start with consulting the landowners in the Keenans Road-Company Road-Seafield Road block on connecting to the town supply. The letter to residents showed the cost to get the water piped to the property boundary is $12,518 - it is then up to each property to pay to connect from the boundary to their house. The north east drinking water project is at the point of consulting with properties in the proposed extension area - the triangle of land comprising Seafield Road, Company Road, and Keenans Road. Photo: LDR / Jonathan Leask It is a price Mulligan is willing to pay, and she hopes it gets enough support to convince the council to proceed with the extension. Her only criticism was the council's consultation letter fails to explain the reason for the extension which is to "give residents safe potable water". "The water quality is so bad that we need to connect." The north-east of Ashburton has historic water quality issues, being high in nitrates and E coli, Mulligan said. "It's been contaminated from a long way back." Her water is tested monthly, paid for by AMP, and the results "are appalling", she said. The nitrate levels fluctuate from around 8 to 10.8mg/L and have been as high as 15mg/L - the maximum acceptable value for nitrate in drinking water is 11.3mg/L. E coli is a constant presence as well, she said. "You can boil the water to get rid of E coli but then you concentrate the nitrates. "Five years ago, I put in a deeper bore thinking my water would improve - nope. "I don't drink it ever." Ashburton's Celtic Rugby Club, the largest rugby club in the town, would "be silly not to" connect to the town supply president Pete Gowans says. Photo: RNZ / Jonathan Leask Up the road from Mulligan is probably one of the biggest landholders in the area - the Celtic Rugby Club. President Pete Gowans said the club had received the council letter offering the opportunity to connect to the town supply. "We'd be silly not to," he said. "We have systems in place for drinking water, so we don't have any issues." He said the club had a filtration system on the pump from its private bore supply, while most visiting teams brought their own filled water bottles. If the club has to stump up the cash to connect to the town supply it would be worth it, he said. "It will be to the benefit of everyone out there. "The area is growing with a lot of lifestyle blocks all subdivided up so there are a lot more people out here than there were 15 years ago." Lal Mulligan filling her water containers at the Ashburton Cemetery. Photo: LDR / Jonathan Leask The council consulted on a reticulated water scheme for the North East area in late 2000, with the cost of the scheme estimated at that time at $1.7 million. The was insufficient support, around 12 percent, to justify proceeding with the project. As part of that consultation, the council had also asked about investigating a reticulated wastewater service. It faired better with 28 percent support, but still too low to justify progressing. In 2022/23, the council budgeted for an investigation into extending wastewater service to Residential D zoned land around Ashburton and to carry out detailed design for water supply in the north east. That work has been completed up to the design phase. Now the first tranche of north east landowners have the opportunity to convince the council to proceed with the extension. If the extension goes ahead and a property owner does not wish to connect, those properties may still incur a water supply charge through their rates (set at $409 in 2025/26). After paying the estimated $12,518 to connect, and the additional cost of connecting it from the boundary, the properties will receive the targeted water rate for a connected property ($817 in 2025/26). McCann said the council was also looking into a wastewater servicing project for the north-east area but "is only in its initial concept stage and council has made no commitment at this point to providing the service". At the council's Three Waters Services Committee meeting last month, the two projects were discussed and assets manager Andy Guthrie said the wastewater extension would "certainly open up opportunity for development that doesn't currently exist". McCann said ECan's position on new discharge consents in the area has "likely stalled some development". LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
$40m waste contract awarded
Ashburton Resource Recovery Park. PHOTO: ASHBURTON DISTRICT COUNCIL WasteCo in Christchurch has been chosen from three tenders to take over Ashburton's waste management contract. The $40 million nine-year contract will begin in September next year. It includes kerbside collection of general refuse, recycling, and a new Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) service, which will be introduced to 12,300 households. WasteCo will also manage public place litter and recycling bins, event waste services, illegal dumping, and the full operation of two resource recovery parks, 13 recycling drop-off sites, and services for 21 schools across the district. It would also see a new re-use shop at Ashburton Resource Recovery Park to support waste diversion and community initiatives. WasteCo chief executive David Peterson said the contract marked a significant milestone in the company's continued national growth. 'We are excited to partner with Ashburton District Council and to work closely with the Ashburton community,' Peterson said. 'This contract allows us to deliver innovative, future-focused waste solutions that will enhance service delivery, environmental performance, and community outcomes.'' The contract would support 23 full-time employees, and necessitate nine new collection vehicles and an associated plant. Peterson said WasteCo had a strong focus on technology, innovation, and the ability to provide real-time data and performance reporting. The company would also explore solar power and invest in hybrid and electric fleet options.
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
'It's fast, high adrenaline': South Island drifting champ's burning ambition
Drifter Sheldon Kneale at the recent Drift South Pro Series championship. PHOTO: SUPPLIED South Island drifting champion Sheldon Kneale has his sights on national success. The 30-year-old Ashburton driver won the recent Drift South Pro Series championship and is lining up for the New Zealand pro-sport series next year. He has come a long way from when he first started drifting more than 10 years ago. Thrill-seeking Kneale, a keen mountain biker and BMX rider in his youth, attended a drift school run via the Christchurch Car Club in his late teens. He ''loved it'', and likened drift battles, at speeds of up to 170km/h, to the thrill of downhill mountain biking, with the same adrenaline rush. ''You are constantly on the verge of crashing into other people but so in control that you don't crash,'' he said. ''It's fast, high adrenaline. There's heaps I like about it.'' After his first training session he attended every track event he could. There were competitions every three to four weeks, he said. Sheldon Kneale in the winner's circle. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Drivers get points for line, angle and style during drift events. The highest score out of 100 wins. 'It's the fastest growing motorsport in the world,'' he said. Kneale has been with the South Island-based Drift South Pro Series for the past seven seasons. During that time, he has won the championship twice - most recently at Easter and has multiple podium finishes. He said there was plenty of camaraderie in the drifting community, with drivers from all walks of life taking to the motorsport. ''Everyone is in the same mindset … I've got friends who do it as well,'' he said. They remained friends, even in battle. Kneale said he could not do what he did without the support of wife Emily, mother Donna and dad Jason who he described as ''his right-hand man'' at drift competitions. The young drifter, a carpenter by day, works alongside his dad, Jason, in the family business, Southern Traverse Homes. ''We're working together and playing together,'' Kneale said with a grin. He also has the support of many in the building industry who were backing his motorsport ability with sponsorship from Aotea Electrical, Welshy Contracting, Placemakers Ashburton, Roddick Plumbing, Mike Greer Homes Mid and South Canterbury and Johnson's Panel and Paint. Brother-in-law Nathan Lodwidge from Full Spectrum Fabrication was also on his side. He kitted out Kneale's Nissan Silvia S13 for competition, including fitting the roll cage, gearbox, suspension and engine mount. Kneale said he has had two vehicles since taking up the sport: A 180SX Nissan Silvia, which was written off after a collision during an event – which still irked him – and his currrent 1990s Nissan Silvia, which is older than him. He considered his current car better than the first, and used a standard 235mm road radial tyre, not the wider tyre such as a 265mm, as it benefited him long-term for the D1NZ Pro-Sport Series, limited to the narrower tyre. Kneale said every venue had their own track layout but events could include up to 30 laps with solo practice runs, then qualifying ranking battles between two drivers, followed by elimination battles. He could replace anywhere from 14 to 20 tyres per event, at a cost of about $100 each. He said he got a good deal on tyres from Tyre Owl in Christchurch. His favourite track was the A-track version 2, at Ruapuna Motorsport Park, but he was impressed by Highlands MotorSport Park in Cromwell which he recently visited.
