Bay Harbour: September 30, 2020
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Wednesday <strong>September</strong> <strong>30</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
BAY HARBOUR<br />
PAGE 3<br />
News<br />
Heathcote River flooding work delayed<br />
• By Matt Slaughter<br />
Tim<br />
Scandrett<br />
WORK TO address flooding<br />
affecting properties alongside the<br />
Heathcote River will be delayed<br />
in favour of similar projects in<br />
Christchurch’s east.<br />
The city council has approved<br />
$12 million to go towards addressing<br />
flooding on Pages Rd,<br />
Wainoni, which has been an<br />
issue for 10 years.<br />
It wasn’t going<br />
to fund the<br />
works to fix the<br />
problem for another<br />
four years<br />
– but voted to<br />
bring the funding<br />
forward to<br />
start next year.<br />
The funds<br />
were originally<br />
earmarked for projects including<br />
addressing flooding which<br />
affects properties close to the<br />
Heathcote River but these will<br />
now be delayed.<br />
City councillor Tim Scandrett<br />
voted against the Christchurch<br />
east project and fellow councillor<br />
Yani Johanson abstained from<br />
voting. Both asked for more information<br />
on the delay this will<br />
cause for these other projects.<br />
“It did say in the report [city<br />
council] that it would have to<br />
delay other works, and what are<br />
the delays, what’s the timeframe?<br />
That wasn’t clear in the report,”<br />
Catherine<br />
Chu<br />
said Scandrett.<br />
He said the Heathcote River<br />
issues should be prioritised first<br />
because more properties are affected<br />
by flooding there than on<br />
Pages Rd.<br />
“If you look at the [Pages Rd]<br />
project, it’s largely looking at an<br />
area that is red zoned and has<br />
no houses on it but the flooding<br />
there does effect Pages Rd and<br />
Anzac Drive.”<br />
Johanson agrees with Scandrett.<br />
“Because there’s not a lot of<br />
information about those other<br />
projects, other than just to say<br />
they’ll be delayed, I thought<br />
that’s pretty unfair on those<br />
communities who have been<br />
expecting work to happen, have<br />
VOTE FOR YOUR FUTURE !<br />
been told that work’s going to<br />
happen,” he said.<br />
City councillor Sara Templeton<br />
lives in Heathcote and represents<br />
the area. She voted in favour of<br />
approving the Christchurch east<br />
flooding projects.<br />
She voted this way because<br />
some work to address flooding<br />
beside the Heathcote River has<br />
already been done and reduced<br />
this issue but nothing has been<br />
done in the east. However, she<br />
does not favour this project over<br />
the Heathcote one.<br />
“Currently, there’s work still<br />
under way in the Heathcote<br />
catchment, whereas the other<br />
[Christchurch east] area has had<br />
zero work.”<br />
Heathcote Valley Community<br />
Association chairman Lewis<br />
Low said the work that has happened<br />
in Heathcote has reduced<br />
flooding, so he understands<br />
Templeton’s reasoning.<br />
Said city council stormwater<br />
and waterways programme<br />
manager Keith Davison: “In this<br />
case, the Heathcote low stopbanks<br />
project’s budget has been<br />
slipped back by a year.<br />
“Significant works on the<br />
Heathcote are already reducing<br />
flooding risk and impact. These<br />
works include dredging, bank<br />
stabilisation, and storage basins<br />
– which are all either completed<br />
or well advanced,” he said.<br />
The Christchurch east project<br />
will involve building a new stopbank<br />
and stormwater pond and<br />
SLUMPED: Work to address flooding issues<br />
along the Heathcote River will be delayed<br />
to allow projects to address flooding in<br />
Christchurch’s east to happen sooner.<br />
<br />
wetland in the triangular area of<br />
land between Pages Road, Anzac<br />
Drive and the Avon River.<br />
City councillor Phil Mauger<br />
got so fed up with the flooding<br />
situation on Pages Rd, he went in<br />
with a digger last month and dug<br />
a trench – it fixed the flooding<br />
overnight.<br />
The council blocked the trench<br />
as it was deemed a safety hazard<br />
and launched an official investigation<br />
of Mauger’s actions.<br />
Mauger said he understands<br />
Scandrett and Johanson’s<br />
concerns and he views Heathcote<br />
flooding as an important<br />
issue. He said he just relieved<br />
something will finally be done<br />
to addresses the east’s flooding<br />
problems.<br />
for Banks Peninsula<br />
E: catherine.chu@national.org.nz<br />
FB: @CatherineChuNZ<br />
P: 021 176 0985<br />
Authorised by Catherine Chu, Level 2, 363 Colombo Street, Christchurch.<br />
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