Noisy flying fox move costly
A noisy Christchurch flying fox saga is drawing to a close, with plans to move it about 750 metres south – but children will not be playing on it for some time with no funds free to reinstall it.
One Prestons subdivision resident called the issue ‘‘a big bureaucratic waste of money’’ that has left Muka Park, where the flying fox used to be, ‘‘completely useless’’ with nothing in it for children.
The 50m flying fox was removed from the park in November, at a cost to ratepayers of
$26,600. It had been installed in January 2016 by subdivision developers Nga¯i Tahu and handed over to the Christchurch City Council in June that year.
After complaints from nearby residents in February 2016, council testing found the flying fox breached the nighttime noise limits of 40 decibels so the pulley was removed, despite strong community support for the flying fox.
Council staff have decided the best place for the flying fox to be moved to is nearby Marshland Domain and installing it could cost up to $30,000 – but the funding is not available until the
2020-21 financial year under the council’s long-term plan.
It will cost the council more than $50,000 in moving costs, adding the expense for acoustic reports and the unsuccessful trial of mechanism it had hoped would be quieter.
Council head of parks Andrew Rutledge said the costs would need to be assessed closer to installation, with costs to include building a mound and platform, posts for the cable, a playground ‘‘soft fall’’, and landscaping and earthworks. The funding could be moved forward under the annual plan if needed, he said.
Rutledge said Marshland Domain was chosen because it was far enough from neighbouring properties and close to the original site. Other parks in the area were considered, as was Marshland School.
Prestons resident Alun Davies, who campaigned for the flying fox to stay, said the new location was less likely to be used by Prestons residents because they would now have to cross the busy Prestons Rd to get to the domain, which was ‘‘not central to any housing area’’.
Davies said nothing had been done to replace the flying fox and without it, Muka Park often had nobody in it.
When asked if the money could be raised, community board deputy chairman Tim Sintes said it was ‘‘a bit too much to ask the community’’ and the council should pay.