Latest news with #Hurunui
1News
10 hours ago
- Business
- 1News
Council land banks to prepare for future natural disasters
In a "uniquely Hurunui" move, a North Canterbury council is land banking to prepare for future natural disasters and the threat of climate change. The growing risk of sea level rise to its beach communities has led to the Hurunui District Council buying a $3.8m block of land south of Amberley. Hurunui Mayor Marie Black said buying the land gave people options and allowed them to prepare for future events. "This land purchase is about putting people first, providing security in mitigating against the effects of coastal hazards, while leading the way in proactive coastal relocation." The Ashworths Rd property was on a terrace elevated over 20m above sea level and had the potential to be developed into residential housing in the future. ADVERTISEMENT The council has worked with its beach communities to develop coastal adaptation plans, with one of the options being proactive relocation. Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said the initiative was "a uniquely Hurunui solution" and he was unaware of other councils proactively buying land for relocation. It made good fiscal sense to take advantage of a block of land coming on to the market and "land banking at today's prices," he said. "Currently, when natural hazards trigger action, it is central and local government that pick up the costs and they are generally big numbers. "After the earthquakes and after the storm in Hawke's Bay, people were forced to relocate and you can see that it triggers a lot of trauma and financial uncertainty. "But this gives people a pathway." The Amberley Beach village in particular was under threat from sea level rise, he said. ADVERTISEMENT The council recently worked with residents to construct a new coastal bund, a type of embankment to offer protection against the sea. It was loan funded at the request of ratepayers in the village, who are paying it off via a targeted rate. The $3.8m property purchase has been debt funded. The council would look to recover costs through a mixed model approach, including the future development of the land, the sale of surplus land and leasing out the land to recover some costs. Affected communities could secure sections by paying a targeted rate over the next 30 years or buying sections. "This is designed to be self-funded, so it doesn't become a burden on ratepayers," Dobbie said. When residents joined the initiative, their plot of land would be attached to their existing property, so the two properties could not be sold separately. ADVERTISEMENT When the time came, residents could transport their house to the new section or build onsite. The council would also be able to relocate its infrastructure or assets, if required. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Scoop
20 hours ago
- General
- Scoop
New Roads Immortalise Amberley Legends
Two new roads in Amberley will honour the contributions of well-known community figures. The naming of the two private roads, both to be located in Amberley Country Estate Retirement Village, have been approved by Council. The new McEwan Crescent will pay homage to Gordon McEwan, a blacksmith who worked for Arthur Burke Ltd Blacksmith Shop during the 20th century, and was put forward as a 'tribute to local craftsmanship and community backbone'. The second namesake lives in the Amberley Country Estate, close to the new road that will bear her name: Lodge Lane - 'in honour of Helen Lodge, a recent recipient of the Hurunui District Council Community Service Award. Helen and her husband, formerly Amberley's local police constable, have served the community for decades.' There are few community organisations Helen hasn't served on. Her Community Service Award, awarded last year, recognises her service to the Amberley Lions' Club, the Amberley District Community Vehicle Trust, Amberley Returned Services Association, Poppy Day Appeal, Hato Hone St John, Cancer Support, the Dementia Unit in Amberley, IHC, and more. Arriving in Amberley 40 years ago from Otago, Helen has been a volunteer for most of her life and, she says, her husband Mike was a member of the Lions Club for 50 years. 'He was the last of the sole-charge policemen,' she says. Council's Planner Scott Rose says while councils are responsible for the naming of public roads, it is common for privately-owned retirement villages to request the naming and registration of private roads for easy navigation around the village for residents, visitors, postal services and emergency services. 'Council involvement ensures consistent naming and avoids duplication and confusion with any existing public roads. It also ensures these names are known to Council for future road naming.' Scott says road names need to conform to the Rural and Urban Addressing Policy to meet legislative, Land Information New Zealand, New Zealand Post and emergency services requirements. 'Badly assigned addresses can cause problems and are costly to rectify.' Once a subdivision is established, road naming can start, Rose says. 'Applicants submit three suggested names, Council Planning officers make recommendations, and a report is brought to Council for final approval with the recommendation of the relevant Council Committee.' Hurunui District Mayor Marie Black, who presented Helen with her Community Service Award last year, says the new names are fitting tributes. 'Every road tells a story — and in this case, both honour the people who helped shape our community.'
Scoop
18-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Cost-Saving Water Project Sets Examples For Small Councils Nationwide
Hurunui District Council's award-winning Water Safety Project for protozoa compliance has been recognised yet again - this time for the impressive cost savings it's delivered while meeting new water standards. Council won the Excellence in Cost Effective Impact Award at the 2025 LGFA Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards held last week. The category is new to the awards and recognises programmes or projects that generate significant and demonstrable reduction in costs without compromising the achievement of the desired outcome. Hurunui's Water Safety Project previously won the Excellence in Water Project Award at last month's Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) Excellence Awards. Council's Chief Operations Officer Dan Harris said winning the Excellence in Cost Effective Impact category award was especially meaningful as the project had been born out of the challenges of meeting the costs of impending drinking water standards, which, for many of the districts' smaller supplies, would have been unaffordable. The project involved upgrades to 16 water treatment plants at a total cost of $24 million to comply with water safety regulations requiring protozoa protection for each of these plants. 'It was an ambitious project by any standard but especially challenging for our district with its population of around 13,800 residents spread across 8,641 km2,' Harris said. In 2015, Council consulted with its communities on a way forward to meet protozoa compliance. 'We agreed to implement a district-wide equitable rating system for all drinking water supplies. This combined all finances for all but one of our schemes,' Harris said. To keep costs down, Council established an in-house Project Management Office (PMO), which significantly reduced the reliance on external consultants. Judges at the awards recognised the project as a 'prime example of how rigorous project management and quality engagement can enable a council to meet both a critical regulatory requirement and a significant community expectation'. Council CEO Hamish Dobbie said Hurunui is proud to be leading the way in developing a model of water delivery that is uniquely tailored to the district and has resulted in significant cost savings. 'Judges at both awards have commented that our model can be replicated by other councils, and is especially valuable for smaller councils managing multiple schemes,' Dobbie said. Hurunui Mayor Marie Black said delivering robust infrastructure with good financial management sits at the heart of Council's strategic vision. 'As a smaller council, we're showing that through collaboration and strong financial management, it's possible to deliver innovative solutions with benefits well beyond our own district.' This is the second year in a row Hurunui District Council has won its category at the Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards, having previously won the Community Engagement category last year.
RNZ News
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Support young people before they go on a benefit, mayors say
Mocketts Motors owner Chris Gudsell (left), automotive engineering apprentice Marco Shepherd, Hurunui Mayor Marie Black, and Hurunui District Council MTFJ Programme lead Chris Sutherland and MTFJ youth connector Anna Scott, look under the bonnet of Chris's orange-and-black 1971 Valiant Pacer 3 speed, which can be spotted at the workshop when it is not at a car show. Photo: Hurunui District Council / supplied Two Canterbury mayors say the government shouldn't tamper with their youth job programme. The government is targeting getting young people off Jobseeker Support , which has led to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) changing its funding criteria for the Mayors' Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) programme, a youth employment scheme. But Kaikōura Mayor Craig Mackle said the programme helps support school leavers into employment so they don't end up on a benefit in the first place. ''Here's a solution, if you're worried about young people going on a benefit, put more resourcing into MTFJ,'' Mackle said. The jobs programme helps young people aged 16-25 into work through driver licensing, career advice and guidance, interview skills, preparing CVs, work experience and transport. The Kaikōura MTFJ programme's funding is set to be slashed from $260,000 to $100,000 for the next 12 months from July 1. Hurunui Mayor Marie Black said the Hurunui MTFJ programme is also facing a funding cut, but didn't want to give a figure. Marie Black. Photo: Hurunui District Council Black said young people needed fulfilment, so getting them into employment was essential. The mayors were responding to a comment from Social Development Minister Louise Upston in a statement following last month's Budget. ''Recent forecasts show that people under the age of 25 on Jobseeker Support will spend an average of 18 or more years on a benefit over their lifetimes,'' Upston said. Young people are eligible for Jobseeker Support from age 18. The government plans to introduce parental means testing for 18- and 19-year-olds in a bid to push more unemployed young people into work. MSD group general manager insights Fleur McLaren said modelling in 2023 suggested Jobseeker clients under age 25 were likely to spend an average 18.2 future years on a benefit, compared to an estimated 12.2 future years in 2017. She said it was due to several factors, including a challenging economic outlook, complex issues such as mental health, and the difficulty getting off the benefit. Kaikōura Mayor Craig Mackle (left) and the Mayors' Taskforce for Jobs programme supported Courtney Burke to step up to be a diesel mechanic with her employer Sam Lewthwaite last year. Photo: David Hill / North Canterbury News MSD is basing its MTFJ funding for the next 12 months, from 1 July, on the number of 18- to 24-year-olds on Jobseeker Support. Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said it will take time for the economy to fully recover. ''With every recession, it takes a while to recover, but there's always a couple green shoots coming through and we can see that in the primary sector.'' Te Hā o Mātauranga (Learning in Kaikōura) holds the MTFJ contract for the Kaikōura District Council. ''One of my concerns is that our government seems to be leaving it to families to stop their young people entering the benefit system, rather than helping young people to gain employability skills and find work,'' Te Hā operations lead Vicki Gulleford said. She said young people started leaving school from the age of 16 but there are few options. There is no tertiary education in Kaikōura and polytechs do not offer student accommodation to under-18s. Kaikōura youth attended a taster mechanic course at Ara in Christchurch earlier this year. Photo: Kaikōura Mayors' Taskforce for Jobs Gulleford said there needed to be support from families, employers and the wider community to help Kaikōura youth find a pathway. ''We have heard from different youth over the years that they will go away, that Kaikōura doesn't hold a future employment pathway for them. ''But their hearts will always hold Kaikōura as home, and hopefully we see them find a way back here in the future.'' LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Otago Daily Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Councils press on with water plan
The Kaikōura District Council held its deliberations on Wednesday, after receiving just 14 submissions, with nine backing the joint CCO proposal and four preferring to go it alone. The Hurunui District Council will meet on Tuesday, May 13, to deliberate after receiving 53 submissions, with 25 in support of forming a joint CCO with Kaikōura and 23 favouring an in-house water services business unit. Councils need to submit water services delivery plans for review by September 3 under the Government's Local Water Done Well reform programme. The legislation aims to address the country's water infrastructure challenges and replaced the previous Government's Three Waters Reform. Kaikōura Deputy Mayor Julie Howden said the response was ''pretty disappointing'', but she was impressed with the quality of the submissions. The council's chief executive, Will Doughty, said the shares will be allocated based on the net assets of each council, but it still needs to be worked through. ''We need to ensure there is a fair and equitable allocation.'' While a final decision will be made at the May 28 council meeting, Mr Doughty said the council is still progressing towards a joint CCO with Hurunui. Hurunui Mayor Marie Black said despite the low turnout, the submissions have given the councillors plenty to think about. ''A lot of people have said they have a high level of trust in the council and the council has invested heavily in our three waters services in recent years. ''We have worked through an incredibly complex process and we will deliver a proposal to the Department of Internal Affairs before the September 3 deadline.'' The Hurunui district has small population of around 13,000 over a large geographical area, while Kaikōura has a population of 4200. Both councils have invested heavily in their three waters infrastructure since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in November 2016. Under the new legislation, a joint CCO can borrow up to 500% of council revenue, instead of the usual borrowing limit of 280%. • LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
