We are often asked for a copy of a street map of the Rolleston township, as it is growing rapidly and purchased maps can very quickly become out of date.

The maps commercially produced by the map book companies are very comprehensive and regularly updated, and we encourage all who require a good quality map of Rolleston to consider popping in to a service station or your local bookstore to pick up a copy.

However, we have had produced a double-sided one page map file which will show you the Rolleston streets and the location of some key points of interest.

Rolleston Street Map [PDF 350kb]

Notes to the map:

• Bernini Lane is incorrectly shown as Bernini Place on the map side, but is correctly listed on the index side. This will be corrected in the next printing.
• The Springfield Visitor Information Buro is the correct full name of this informative organisation.

Are you insured enough to meet rural fire costs?

Many Selwyn property owners are potentially under insured to meet rural fire costs. As a property owner you are responsible for paying for the costs of putting out fires on your rural or lifestyle property; the figure could reach $250,000-plus.

The 2000 Wither Hills fire in Marlborough, which burned more that 6000 hectares of farm land, destroyed fences, water pipes, and livestock and plantation forests; it placed farmers in difficult financial positions as most did not have adequate insurance cover. It also took nearly two years for the land to recover enough for the farmers to start earning income from it again. You need to have insurance to recover the cost of not only extinguishing the fire, but also replacing fences, hedges and buildings. You should update your fire plan at the beginning of each fire season and thoroughly check and review your insurance policies annually.

Other Points to Note

• Consider how susceptible your property is to fire damage.
• You should make sure that you insure for specific assets and loss of profits. Get quotations for as wide a cover as possible before making insurance decisions.
• Ask your insurance company/broker to clarify the policy cover if you are unsure.
• Rural property owners and people visiting rural areas can be held legally liable if they start a fire that damages third-party property and for putting out the fire.
• If you own a lifestyle block make sure you are aware of the requirements and liabilities under the Forest and Rural Fires Act.

For more information, phone Wilson Brown, our Principal Rural Fire Officer, on 3472715.

from this	to this

The Council plans to demolish and remove the present toilet, and replace it with a new modern toilet of a much higher standard, which will be built near to the existing site, but on higher ground and further away from the Selwyn River. Landscape planting will help to blend the new building into the reserve.

The new toilet building, which will be similar to that in the photo (above), will include six separate unisex toilets, including a disabled access toilet. It will also include running water for flushing, washing hands, and cleaning. At present, sewerage is held in an underground tank and regularly removed by a pump truck, a costly and labour intensive process. The new system will provide on-site treatment and dispose of treated wastewater to ground similar to a high quality household septic tank.

Resource consents for the new toilet are currently being prepared. Consent is required from ECan to discharge treated wastewater to land, for the water supply bore, and for the excavations needed to place the treatment and disposal system underground. Construction is expected to start early 2010, once the necessary resource consents have been issued. The existing toilets will still be in use until the completion of the new toilets.

No changes to the toilet on the north bank, east of the Leeston Road bridge, are proposed at this time.

Queries on the upgrading of the toilets to Mark Rykers on 347 2812.

5–16 July (winter school holidays)

Planning is underway for Kidsfest 2010 and we would like to hear from any individuals, clubs or businesses interested in being involved with Kidsfest 2010.

It could be a craft, sport or a special deal on an activity your business hosts.

If you have any questions or are interested in holding an event please contact Judith Walker, ph 347 2716 or email judith.walker@selwyn.govt.nz by 30 November.

We invite you to join us at the Leeston Library for Selwyn Library’s first Walk and Talk Event on Friday 27 November at 10am.

Come and be entertained by our famous local poet Colin Patterson reciting some of his lovely poetry and going for a stroll with him along his walkway at Harts Creek, Leeston.

The plan for the day is to meet at the Leeston Library at 10am, meet Colin and have morning tea (provided by Selwyn Library), take your car to Harts Creek and have a walk then head back to the Library for lunch (bring your own) and to listen to Colin reciting some of his poetry.

There is no need to book but if you have any questions please ring Outreach Librarian Jackie Claridge on 347 2770. So mark it on your calendar, hope for fine weather and look forward to a great day out!

The very popular Selwyn Bikewise Month has been selected as one of three finalists in the NZ CAN Cycle-Friendly Awards for 2009. Selwyn is in the running to win the “Best Cycling Promotion”.

This year we decided to extend Selwyn Bikewise Week into a month of fantastic activities and events celebrating cycling; this was a great way to help promote some very popular community events – the Darfield Fun/Run Walk and Cycle, the Springston School Duathlon and the Rolleston BUG-AR Sunday Rides. Bikewise Month was so successful because of the aspirations and motivations of the people in the community who organised and successfully ran their events. It was also a fantastic way to combine Selwyn Council Cycling events in with local community events under one brand.

Other events held during Selwyn Bikewise Month were:

• Lincoln Go By Bike Day
• Breakfast
• Selwyn Mayoral Challenge
• Selwyn Council Go By Bike Day Breakfast
• Bikewise Battle

The Month was a huge success and a tribute to all the Selwyn residents who turned up and supported the events.

Now, are you ready to “get on ya bike”? Mayor Kelvin Coe is in training to lead the next Mayoral Challenge.

Have you seen the billboards and school bus backs yet?

Remember “20 is Plenty” when passing a school bus that has stopped to let children on or off. This rule applies to traffic on both sides of the road.

As part of this campaign we have had a limited number of the above bumper stickers. If you are passionate about this issue too and would like to spread the word by having a sticker on your car, then please contact me, Carolyn Bennison, Ph 3472944.

Community views welcomed.

Work has started on a new strategy to manage Canterbury’s transport system - the Canterbury Regional Land Transport Strategy 2011 – 2041.

Development of the strategy is being led by the Canterbury Regional Transport Committee which brings together representatives from Environment Canterbury, city and district councils in the region, the New Zealand Transport Agency and a number of community appointees. As part of the strategy development, the Committee will identify challenges facing our transport system over the next 30 years.

The Council’s representative on the Committee, Cr John Morten, says that Selwyn District has an important role to play in shaping a long-term regional transport strategy to meet the future transport needs of its residents. He encourages people to make themselves aware of the transport challenges ahead. Comments are welcomed until 9 December 2009. For further details go to www.ecan.govt.nz/transport or email: transport@ecan.govt.nz to make a submission.

 

Public input will be used to compile a draft strategy for further public consultation in 2011.

As a result of some interest in the Council’s recent decision to assist Central Plains Water Limited towards completing the resource consent hearings, the following media release has been prepared to clarify the Council’s position.

9 October 2009

Selwyn District Council has agreed to provide financial assistance to Central Plains Water Limited (CPW) to help the company complete the resource consent hearings for the Central Plains Water Scheme.

SDC has agreed to buy the $494,000 CPW owes to the Christchurch City Council (CCC), and it has also agreed to make a secured loan to CPW of $800,000.

The payment of $494,000 to CCC means that the City Council now has no involvement in approving loans raised by CPW, as it will no longer be a creditor of the company.

SDC is already a creditor and the $494,000 will be added to the sum of $1.184 million previously advanced to the joint councils’ Central Plains Water Enhancement Committee prior to 2004. This was transferred as a loan to CPW following the company’s formation.

In an associated move, SDC has also lent CPW $800,000 by way of a secured loan, to help the company meet the costs of completing the resource consent hearings for the proposed water scheme.

“Selwyn District Council has bought Christchurch City Council’s loan in Central Plains Water Limited to provide certainty to future borrowing by Central Plains Water to fund its resource consent application,” said the Mayor of Selwyn District Mr Kelvin Coe.

“The Council has also agreed to lend further bridging finance of $800,000 to Central Plains Water Limited with the loan secured against the company’s water assets.

“These two moves will help ensure the Central Plains Water Limited application is funded through to a consent decision,” said Mr Coe.

Prior to this announcement, Selwyn District Council had invested $1.184 million in the scheme, and the debt purchase and new secured loan bring this to a total of $2.478 million.

“As a Council, we recognise the debate on the merits of the scheme has resulted in differing views among some ratepayers, but on balance we feel that a project with such potential for our District, initiated by SDC and CCC  in 2000, should be given the chance to gain its consents,” said Mr Coe.   

For further information contact:
Mayor Kelvin Coe
Tel 03 347 2800. Cellphone 027 267 7732. 

In light of the interest in Local History across Selwyn, the prevalence of Genealogy as a hobby and the upcoming launch of KeteSelwyn in November (stay tuned for more info..) we have taken a 12 month subscription to Ancestry Library Edition on behalf of all Selwyn residents.

You can use this in the Library/Service Centres or from home with your Library card barcode/PIN (go to LIBRARY website > ONLINE > login > ANCESTRY)

Ancestry is an enormous worldwide resource which contains Birth, Marriage and Death data on millions of people, census data, military records, shipping records and many user-made family trees. We’ll soon be providing some training resources and tools to help get people going but to start with the best thing is to have a play. One note - it contains very little NZ-specific data, it’s mainly US and Europe but of course it continues to grow and you can add your own family data to it to help others! "

The Selwyn District Creative New Zealand Creative Communities Assessment Committee needs two new members – one for the Malvern Ward and the other for the Springs Ward.

To... ? Help allocate arts funding in Selwyn.

The Committee, which operates under the wing of the Selwyn District Council, distributes money that has been given to the Council by Creative NZ for the funding of local arts and cultural projects. It meets four times a year to consider funding applications.

The unpaid positions, starting 1 December 2009, are for a term of three years. Travel expenses are reimbursed. As an ideal candidate you will have been actively involved in the arts in Malvern or Springs Wards and be keen to encourage and promote arts activities within Selwyn District. If you are interested in either of these positions, please apply in writing including details of your involvement in the arts, by 5pm, Friday 9 October 2009.

Hand your application for the Malvern position into the Darfield Library/Service Centre (Attention: Judith Pascoe), or for the Springs position into the Lincoln Service Centre (Attention: Stuart Westoby).

Or, post your application to Creative Communities Assessment Committee Position, Selwyn District Council, PO Box 90 Rolleston, 7643. Attention: Judith Pascoe (Malvern position) or Stuart Westoby (Springs position).

Contact Stuart Westoby at the Lincoln Service Centre 3188 338 or 3472 875, or email: arts@selwyn.govt.nz

Have you thought about using the Centre for your next function? We have a great lounge suitable for weddings, 21sts and club prizegivings, and a smaller room at the back, ideal for kids’ birthday parties.

The stadium is perfect for large functions, shows and larger club events .

Our rates are very reasonable so call the Centre on (03) 347-2882 to view or to book.

The new primary school in Rolleston has a school zone that encompasses the southern end of Rolleston township. The zone border is Edwards and Selwyn Roads in the south, Lincoln Rolleston Road in the east, and Brookside Road in the west. The northern edge of the zone is a little more complicated, cutting through the township residential area via Rolleston Drive, Rembrandt Drive, Michelangelo Drive and Tennyson Street.

The following maps indicate the school zone for the new primary school:

Complete school zone [JPG 691kb]

Northern edge of the school zone [JPG 703kb]

Statistics on Selwyn District are available at the Local Councils website. Information available is taken from the most recent Census.

You can find out about Selwyn's population, age profile, ethnicities, employment statuses, income levels, and various bits of info about households.

None of this data is identifying - it is all accumulated from the Census results by the Department of Internal Affairs.