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Heatcote Valley Park
Plans for Heathcote Valley Park are
progressing, with earthworks now under way at
the lower end of the valley and a planting
scheme drawn up for a new saltmarsh north of
Ferrymead Park Drive. The historical significance of the area has also
been highlighted recently with Ferrymead being
chosen as the location for a television series
about early settlers. Items of interest include: In response to requests for some protection
for walkers, cyclists and horse riders along
Ferrymead Park Drive, the Council has
marked an edge line along both sides of the
road. This defines the traffic lane and the
road shoulder. There is insufficient space for
a footpath to be constructed but the road
markings provide about 1.5m of road
shoulder space. Ferrymead Historic Park has become part of
living history as the chosen location for a
new fly-on-the-wall television series Colonial
House. The Touchdown TV production
intends to show a family arriving in
Canterbury on one of the first four ships in
December, 1850. It will film them embarking on a 10-day
voyage from Auckland on a tall ship and
coming ashore at Lyttelton before walking
over the Bridle Path to Ferrymead. Filming
will continue until Christmas Eve and the
series will be screened early in the New Year. A planting scheme has been devised for the
salt marsh that is soon to be created in front
of the proposed Tamaki Tours entrance area. Planting may involve the local community. The Council has adopted a formal costsharing
proposal to help fund the catchmentwide
drainage plans designed to cope with
future development in the Heathcote Valley. Up to 350 new dwellings and premises are
expected to be built in the next 20 years. A comprehensive scheme is preferred
because practical on-site drainage measures
for each new development is considered
inefficient to fully mitigate flooding and waterquality
effects downstream. The Council will
act as “banker” for the scheme from its
capital expenditure budget. Any private
development will be levied at the time of
subdivision or building consent. |