Stories by Jonathan Leask

A two-month delay in clearing flood debris from a SH1 bridge is "not acceptable", Ashburton's mayor says.

Schools making the transition to cleaner energy heating to reduce emissions are likely to face big cost increases.

Principal Ross Preece says a cell phone ban is working at Ashburton College - but should not be forced on every school.

The rollout of 30kph school speed zones is complete, but one Ashburton District Councillor hopes there isn't a rise in speed infringements as a result.

A major water improvement scheme in Canterbury is showing promising results, and is set to get bigger with plans for even more sites to be added.

National says it will have the money, but stopped short of confirming where it will build a second Ashburton/Hakatere River bridge.

Mid-Canterbury's youngest elected member says lowering the voting age at general elections is a gateway to improving overall civics education.

Ashburton District Council chief executive Hamish Riach says the project control group continues to "work through the implications" of a subcontractor's liquidation.

A sub-contractor going into liquidation is the latest blow to Ashburton's troubled new library and civic centre build.

A purge of feral pigeons in Ashburton's CBD is not on the council's agenda because the population has already been reduced, it says.

A Fair Go episode pinned Ashburton as one of the worst recyclers in the country - which the council disputes.

All schools in the Ashburton area will have a 30kph speed zone set up on roads outside them this year, with one principal relieved after a 14 year campaign.

The mayor believes it has further strengthened the case for it to happen sooner, rather than later.

A problem with unwanted guests is frustrating the Ashburton Event Centre and "it's getting serious".

The completion date for Ashburton's new $56.75 million library and civic building has been pushed back again, and it could now open about a year after initially planned.

The Ashburton mayor says it isn't a major concern officials are unsure how Mycoplasma bovis began circulating Wakanui farms in Mid-Canterbury last year.

The Ashburton District Council won't be muzzled by receiving $4.19 million in the Three Waters 'better off' funding that will benefit the community.

Three times a year a driver will crash into the Tinwald viaduct which authorities say is clearly signposted.

Following the sudden death of two-term councillor Rodger Letham in December, Ashburton District Council will have a special election.

Almost as many potholes were filled in 2022 as in the previous three years in the Ashburton District.

Ashburton College heads have done their best to pacify community concerns over suggestions that no student bullying complaints reached the principal or the board in the past five years.

More than 100,000 people have flocked to Methven's Ōpuke Thermal Pools and Spa complex since it opened in November 2021.

Removing the use of cellphones at Ashburton College is about eliminating a major disruption, according to the school's principal.

The Ashburton mayor will be answering his pager if he can, with local volunteer firefighters continuing to respond during the union strike action.

Wastebusters is happy to see the first loads of farm plastics hit the road after four years of stockpiling, but its green waste collection is in breach of the land and water regional plan.