Thursday, Aug 8, 2019 Since Sept 27, 1879 Retail $2 Home delivered from $1.25 THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY Eric Gardiner’s council flat might not have any insulation, but a combination of a heat pump and plenty of sun- Book it, or shine help him ward off the chill of winter PHOTO SUE NEWMAN 080819-SN-003 miss out P3 Insulation conundrum BY SUE NEWMAN units does not allow sufficient space for and we are unable to insulate due to the [email protected] insulation to be installed. constructions of the units – we would It could come down to a battle between Once current tenants leave, its only need to replace the roofs to do this work. bulldozer and budget as the Ashburton option will be to leave the flats unten- “The other two units are partially in- District Council ponders the future of anted. sulated as we can’t insulate under the some of its elderly housing units. Insulation has been installed in all floor as the floor height does not meet Like many local authorities around units where this is possible, but concrete the minimum safety standard for the in- New Zealand, the council has been floors and a lack of ceiling space means sulation staff,” Brake said. caught by changing regulations around this is impossible for some, said council For 16 years Eric Gardiner has lived in insulation in rental properties. business support group manager Paul an uninsulated council flat in Friend- Canty The new standard comes into effect in Brake. ship Lane, but he’s not complaining – July, 2021, if a unit is let to a new tenant Currently there is one uninsulated now. and in July, 2024, for all units with exist- unit sitting empty, however, 16 units are ing or new tenants. unable to have insulation installed. In honours Not only is there a significant cost in two insulation can only be partially in- the insulation requirements, the roof stalled. CONTINUED P2 P17 structure of some of the council’s 112 “The 16 units are at Friendship Lane Gluyas Motor Group 79 Kermode Street | (03) 307 5800 Ph 03 307 7900 to subscribe! Chris Hart Vehicle Sales Manager Mob 027 439 0887 Ray McLaren Vehicle Sales Mob 027 602 3311 Adam Banks Vehicle Sales Mob 027 312 0028 RSP FROM RRP $71,990 www.gluyasford.nz News 2 Ashburton Guardian Thursday, August 8, 2019 www.guardianonline.co.nz Mt Somers’ track huts – bookings only BY SUE NEWMAN and-a-half hour walk, but now [email protected] people won’t be disappointed.” The days of racing the clock to Considerable work has been secure an overnight bed in the Mt carried out on the track over the Somers track’s Woolshed Creek winter with track clearance and a Hut are a thing of the past; from rebuild on the steeper section of October 1, beds will need to be track leading into PInnacles Hut. booked in advance. “We’re looking at all the pinch The track joins dozens of oth- points and we’ll be bringing them er walks around New Zealand up to standard, making it a bit where overnight accommodation easier,” Austin said. must be pre-booked and that will While overnight numbers were affect trampers using both the very high at Woolshed Creek, the Woolshed Creek and Pinnacles society was working on increas- huts. ing guest night numbers at Pin- It’s a change that wasn’t an all- nacle Hut so it could build a case round winner with members of with DOC for an upgrade of this the Mt Somers Walkway Society, hut. It currently has just 17 beds who believed the first-in-first- and often these were used by served system had served the large groups staying for two or track well for years and was an es- three nights, making it difficult tablished part of its culture. for one-nighters to get accommo- But feedback from track users dation. indicated many had experienced The track opened in 1987 and the disappointment of arriving is described as a one-to-two day at Woolshed Creek, in particular, Woolshed Creek Hut walk. It can be walked from one and finding all 26 beds had been end to the other, or a return route taken, said society chairman Bar- via Mt Somers southern face can ry Austin. be used to create a 26-kilometre In many ways the track had be- loop. come a victim of its own success, out again because there are no bags on the living room floor and habit for people who were track Growing user numbers has with tramper numbers now at an beds. We don’t want that to hap- the verandah. regulars, but for most users the meant wardens have been in res- all-time high and beds during the pen as these youngsters are the While trampers would now booking system would be wel- idence at both huts over recent summer months in high demand, trampers of the future.” have to plan in advance to use the comed. summers. he said. At peak last summer there track’s huts, Austin said becoming “Until now you’ve had to leave The DOC online booking sys- “We’ve all seen young families were more than 70 sleeping at part of the DOC booking network the Woolshed Creek carpark by tem for the Mt Somers Track huts who’ve been on the track, get to Woolshed Creek on occasion, was another step forward for the 10am if you wanted to be sure of will be effective from October 1 the hut and find they have to walk with trampers setting up sleeping track. It might require a change of a bed for the night. It’s only a two- until April 30. Ashburton council’s insulation conundrum From P1 abut being cold, Gardiner said. – rentals should provide enough to be insulated to the new stand- pool for significant renovations. Around 12 years ago the flats The oldest of the council’s pen- money for ongoing maintenance. ards. It has claimed it does not “There is talk of asbestos in were freezing and Gardiner and sioner flats are the Mona Square Currently it is spending $200,000 have the funds to carry out this some roofs and one thing leads to wife June were spending $335 a units in Dobson Street. These a year on cyclic renewals, but re- work. another and then another and at month on power during the peak were built in the late 1950s/early serves are rapidly being depleted. It could be up to six months some stage we need to say, where of winter. Running a heater or 1960s and were purchased from An estimated $40,000 to $60,000 before a report to the council on are we going with these units, staying in bed were the only two the Housing Corporation in July, needs to be spent on each unit in future options for the pensioner what is our long-term vision?” ways to stay warm. 1983. order to upgrade it and the coun- units is completed. One of the options that had Gardiner bit the bullet and in- The council has to make some cil would need to find tenants al- Councillor Russell Ellis, who to be considered by council was stalled a heat pump and since hard decisions on the future of its ternative accommodation while chairs the finance and business whether it would be more cost-ef- then his power bill has dropped housing stocks. this work was done. support committee responsible fective to demolish some of the to $133 a month and his flat is On the table are the options of Estimates for a rebuild could for the pensioner units, said the older flats and then rebuild, Ellis toasty warm. And while his is one spending a considerable amount run to $150,000 per unit and the council’s policy around pension- said. of the 16 that cannot be insulated, of money to renovate the older council would need to borrow er housing was that while they “We have to ask, could we do he’s not complaining. units, demolishing these and re- this money. met a community need, they still better by the community by doing Yes, the council might have a building or striking a deal with a It is not alone in facing some had to be cost neutral in terms of something else there?” problem in the future when it fails third party to manage the hous- tough decisions over changing their impact on rates. That suggestion should not be insulation standards, but tenants ing portfolio. insulation requirements, with Under that policy, rental was seen as a negative by the council’s in the sunny flats, now all fitted Its policy is that the pensioner Christchurch City having identi- set aside for maintenance, but tenants, the outcome could be a with heat pumps, can’t complain units should be self supporting fied 930 of its properties needing there was never a large enough good and positive one, he said. 24 HOUR ON CALL EMERGENCY SERVICES Phone: (03) 693 9060 VETERINARYServicing Ashburton and South SERVICES Canterbury Districts Independent & Locally Owned. Ÿ Team of 5 experienced, dedicated veterinarians. Ÿ Personalised Dairy, Station and Livestock Services. Ÿ Small animal diagnostic and surgical clinic. Ÿ Daily farm deliveries. Ÿ Purpose oad parking. Clinic Hours: 8am - 5pm, Monday to Friday 5 Woodbury Road, Geraldine, 7991 | Phone: 693 9060 | Email: [email protected] | www.gatewayvets.co.nz News www.guardianonline.co.nz Thursday, August 8, 2019 Ashburton Guardian 3 Fatal intersection Over 5000 speeders under investigation caught in BY JAIME PITT-MACKAY [email protected] Safety options are being ex- one year plored for an intersection in the Ashburton District where two people lost their lives.