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| July 2000 |
| Neighbourhood
News
A new community directory published by Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board is a howling success, according to community advocate Nick Chapman. He hopes the free directory, which provides a who's who and what's what of the district, will enable groups and individuals to network moreasily. It also provides a guide to community and voluntary services. The previous directory was very much out of date and this new one is an initiative of the Strengthening Community Action Plan (SCAP). Seven thousand copies have been printed and it contains advertising. Nick says it is a new generation directory and he hopes it will be updated on a regular basis. GAP Links is trying to help parents having trouble with adolescents. GAP (Guardians and Parents of Adolescents) Links is run by the Cross Over Trust and operates in south Christchurch. It holds free months workshops and recently Elaine Bruce of Presbyterian Support and the Campbell Centre discussed communication with adolescents. GAP Links aims to provide a safe environment for guardians and parents of adolescents and to provide information and support so that family relationships are strengthened. An event coming up of interest to the group will be Parenting Week 2000 in September. This will focus on the importance of good-quality parenting.
Employment issues and the social impacts of supermarkets and malls are the subjects of research projects under way by Spreydon- Heathcote Community Board. Using SCAP (Strengthening Community Action Plans) money, the projects will cost $7000 each. Both were developed by working parties that arose from a community planning "Big View" forum held last September. They have been developed to the research- brief stage and researchers will be employed soon. Some of the key issues in the supermarket- mall research are noise, traffic, pollution, quality of life, privacy, the breaking of physical links within the community and the intrusion of large buildings in primary residential areas. One of the benefits will be that the information will give a foundation for people "to use as a base for community development." Other SCAP funds went on producing the community directory ($2250), and $2500 will be used for providing community transport. Community groups requiring transport assistance will be able to apply for this money. How the fund will operate and its rules will be determined by a working party formed by the community board.
The FendaltonAdvocacy Team is preparing a community directory which will be distributed free to every home in Fendalton-Waimairi. It will be modelled on the directory distributed in the community about six years ago.
Barnardos Hei Hei Early Learning Centre has opened its new premises. Two years ago the local church childcare centre closed and concerned parents approached the community development staff at Sockburn Service Centre for assistance with ways in which they could continue to provide care and education for local pre-schoolers. A meeting was organised with parents, a Barnardos representative and City Council staff. As the result, parents invited Barnardos to follow up, in partnership with the Council, the development of a new learning centre for pre-schoolers based in the community. Over the last two years local children attended several temporary venues until a permanent location was secured. Permission was finally given for a City Council building to be relocated to Gilberthorpe Primary School. The building was upgraded extensively and is now the new early learning centre. Service centre and Council Property Unit staff are pleased to be part of this partnership with Barnardos New Zealand, which is now meeting the needs of many families in north Hornby. The City Council and Christchurch College of Education have worked together to minimise carparking problems around the college, in Ilam. In 1998, following extensive consulation, the Council introduced carparking restrictions in the area. These provided a balance between the parking requirments of local residents and those of college students. Earlier this year it was proposed to reduce the spread of carparking by providing more spaces closer to the college. This has now been done by changing parallel parks to angle parks on Dovedale Avenue (between Solway and Waimairi) and through the college's Dovedale Avenue carpark redevelopment. Altogether about 100 additional spaces have been provided. Three new resident groups are to be formed in Papanui, Redwood and Casebrook. Public meetings were held in the last month to gauge interest in forming residents' groups. The meetings were well attended with many people showing interest in taking an active role in setting up the groups. The first job will be to define their boundaries. Fendalton-Waimairi Community Board will meet the travel costs of a young person from the community selected for the Pan Pacific Youth Exchange Programme.
Community aerobics are run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6pm-7pm at the Templeton Community Hall. The classes are a Christchurch City Council Leisure initiative and are taken by instructor Coralea Rushton. The charge is $3 a class with concessions for regular attendees.
Riccarton Volunteer Library has long needed more space and now it has some. It has recently been extended, taking over what was the little-used kitchen in the old Riccarton Town Hall (Clarence Street). The library is open Monday to Friday from 12noon to 3pm and Saturday 10am to 12noon. |
Anyone
wanting a listing in this directory should contact the team on 351 7109. 
Contact
community development adviser Paul McOscar on 941 6730 or any advocacy team member at
Fendalton for more information.