Latest news with #RollestonResidentsAssociation
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Wording of campaign draws ire after lack of public consultation
"Together we decided" - that is the catchphrase of a Selwyn District Council campaign to tell people how their rates will be spent. But the word "together" has come under fire because the council bypassed public consultation, relying on the 1500 submissions it received as part of the Long Term Plan just over a year ago. The campaign, which the council spent $8000 advertising, focuses on two taglines: "Together we decided" and "together we're delivering". It was designed to provide an update on projects scheduled for the year ahead. On Wednesday councillors voted to approve the 14.2% average rates increase as part of adopting the 2025-26 Annual Plan. The vote was five to three with Ellesmere Ward councillor Elizabeth Mundt, Springs Ward councillor Grant Miller and Malvern Ward councillor and mayoral candidate Lydia Gliddon voting against the plan. Darfield Residents Association chair Harvey Polglase was not impressed with the campaign and said it was farcical the council did not recognise the need for consultation given the amount rates were increasing. 'We certainly did not decide, we were denied the opportunity to decide,' he said. In November, councillors voted 8-2 not to have a consultation on this year's rates rise. Instead they opted to 'engage and inform', which this campaign is part of. The decision to forgo consultation also meant councillors were unable to make any changes to the wording in the draft annual plan beyond small tweaks. Rolleston Residents Association chair Mark Alexander said he personally did not agree with the campaign. 'We haven't decided anything – except not to consult the community in 2025,' he said. Mayoral candidate and Malvern Ward councillor Lydia Gliddon said the campaign was 'tongue-in-cheek' given there was no consultation on this year's annual plan. 'The wording is not quite right when saying 'together' when we are 'engaging and informing'.' Gliddon, along with Springs Ward councillor Grant Miller, had voted in favour of holding a consultation. Mayor Sam Broughton defended the choice of wording. 'I think we have talked to our community, and it has been very transparent. We had 1500 submissions to the Long Term Plan, which includes what we are delivering this year,' he said. 'So together we did decide to do all of the things we are continuing to deliver for our community.' Broughton said it would be a waste of ratepayers' money to have another consultation just a year after deciding on the Long Term Plan. The last time the council skipped consultation in year two of a long-term plan was in 2019, when rates rose by 6%. Gliddon and Ellesmere Ward councillor Elizabeth Mundt were surprised at the timing of the campaign which started a week ago – before councillors had approved the draft annual plan. Broughton said he had expected the campaign to start tomorrow after the councillors had voted.
Otago Daily Times
27-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Well-known Christchurch man dies in crash
A well-known Canterbury property developer and residents' advocate was killed in a car crash on Sunday morning. Christchurch resident Jens Christensen died at the scene of the single-vehicle crash on Lake Sumner Rd about 11.30am. Another person sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital. The police serious crash unit was investigating. One dead, one seriously injured in crash Christensen, a great-grandad, had lived in Sumner for about seven years until his death but was well known for his work with the Rolleston Residents Association, who confirmed his death in a Facebook post. He led a fascinating life, going from police trainee to poultry farmer to property developer and politician. Christensen was a life member of the Rolleston Residents Association and a former chair and vice chair. He also spent three terms as a Selwyn district councillor between 1998 and 2007. Christensen was due to speak at former mayor Bill Woods' funeral on Monday. He grew up in Christchurch and left Christchurch Boys' High to join the police at 17. About a year later, when he was at police training school in Trentham, Upper Hutt, Christensen was a part of a team who helped rescue survivors from the Wahine ferry disaster in 1968. "I had the police van out, I could hear the Wahine's sinking unfolding on the police radio," Christensen told The Star in 2022. "First thing I think I heard was 'People are starting to abandon ship, they are jumping into the water'. "I got on the two-way radio and said to the police central station, because phone lines were out to the Hutt Valley, 'I will get this van back to Trentham and muster some manpower to get to Eastbourne Beach'. That's what we did, we got instructors' cars, the police van, anything that was mobile." Just a few years later, he left the police and moved back to Christchruch with his wife Karen. When Christensen was 22, the couple went into the poultry industry and bought their first farm in Woolston. They sold their poultry business after about 14 years. "I decided two things – I never wanted to employ staff again, nor deal directly with the public because we had 600-odd customers," Christensen told The Star in 2022. "We rented a house for a year at Springston to decide what we were going to do. I decided development might be our next forte. It ended up in Rolleston." Christensen bought 30 acres in Rolleston off the Crown in the 1990s. The neighbour then put the adjoining 250 acres on the market - so Christensen bought that as well. The original 30 acres is now known as Brookside Park after Christensen sold the land to the Selwyn District Council. When the district council called for a name for a new road in the reserve, a Rolleston Residents Association initiative led to it being called Christensen Parade. As a Selwyn district councillor, Christensen held various portfolios, including employment, economic development, youth and youth employment. He also chaired the Izone centre for 12 years. "Izone was successful because we set it up as a board of directors, separate from council, so it wasn't pushed and pulled every three years by a different bunch of councillors," Christensen told The Star in 2022. "That development actually returned a profit of $40 million to the people of Selwyn. We built a few buildings out of that." He and Karen then bought another development in Lincoln with 150 sections. It had two houses at the time - so they moved into one of them. From Lincoln, Christensen moved to Redwood in Christchurch. But the house was damaged in the 2011 earthquake so they bought another home in Rolleston. Recently, in his role as Rolleston Residents Association vice chair, Christensen caused a stir over his push to get the word 'library' included in Te Ara Ātea's name after it was built. -APL
Otago Daily Times
27-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Crash claims life of well-known Cantabrian
A well-known Canterbury property developer and residents' advocate was killed in a car crash on Sunday morning. Christchurch resident Jens Christensen died at the scene of the single-vehicle crash on Lake Sumner Rd about 11.30am. Another person sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital. The serious crash unit was investigating the crash. One dead, one seriously injured in crash Christensen, a great-grandad, had lived in Sumner for about seven years until his death but was well known for his work with the Rolleston Residents Association. He led a fascinating life, going from police trainee to poultry farmer to property developer and politician. Christensen was a life member of the Rolleston Residents Association and a former chair and vice chair. He also spent three terms as a Selwyn district councillor between 1998 and 2007. Christensen was due to speak at former mayor Bill Woods' funeral on Monday. He grew up in Christchurch and left Christchurch Boys' High to join the police at 17. About a year later, when he was at police training school in Trentham, Upper Hutt, Christensen was a part of a team who helped rescue survivors from the Wahine ferry disaster in 1968. "I had the police van out, I could hear the Wahine's sinking unfolding on the police radio," Christensen told The Star in 2022. "First thing I think I heard was 'People are starting to abandon ship, they are jumping into the water'. "I got on the two-way radio and said to the police central station, because phone lines were out to the Hutt Valley, 'I will get this van back to Trentham and muster some manpower to get to Eastbourne Beach'. That's what we did, we got instructors' cars, the police van, anything that was mobile." Just a few years later, he left the police and moved back to Christchruch with his wife Karen. When Christensen was 22, the couple went into the poultry industry and bought their first farm in Woolston. They sold their poultry business after about 14 years. "I decided two things – I never wanted to employ staff again, nor deal directly with the public because we had 600-odd customers," Christensen told The Star in 2022. "We rented a house for a year at Springston to decide what we were going to do. I decided development might be our next forte. It ended up in Rolleston." Christensen bought 30 acres in Rolleston off the Crown in the 1990s. The neighbour then put the adjoining 250 acres on the market - so Christensen bought that as well. The original 30 acres is now known as Brookside Park after Christensen sold the land to the Selwyn District Council. When the district council called for a name for a new road in the reserve, a Rolleston Residents Association initiative led to it being called Christensen Parade. As a Selwyn district councillor, Christensen held various portfolios, including employment, economic development, youth and youth employment. He also chaired the Izone centre for 12 years. "Izone was successful because we set it up as a board of directors, separate from council, so it wasn't pushed and pulled every three years by a different bunch of councillors," Christensen told The Star in 2022. "That development actually returned a profit of $40 million to the people of Selwyn. We built a few buildings out of that." He and Karen then bought another development in Lincoln with 150 sections. It had two houses at the time - so they moved into one of them. From Lincoln, Christensen moved to Redwood in Christchurch. But the house was damaged in the 2011 earthquake so they bought another home in Rolleston. Recently, in his role as Rolleston Residents Association vice chair, Christensen caused a stir over his push to get the word 'library' included in Te Ara Ātea's name after it was built. -APL
