SOCKBURN PLAYGROUND SHUT FOUR MONTHS FOR "ASPIRATIONAL MAINTENANCE", COUNCIL WON'T SAY WHAT THAT IS
The fence went up in August. Bugger all has happened since.
A Sockburn playground has been fenced off since August under a Christchurch City Council notice citing "aspirational maintenance", a phrase the council has declined to explain to anyone, including its own contractors.
The swings and slide are visible through the mesh but nobody can get to them. A laminated sign reads "WORKS IN PROGRESS". No works have been observed. A cone has been on its side since Labour Weekend.
Colleen Winmill, 71, said she'd walked past twice a day with her grandson and hadn't seen a hi-vis yet. "Aspirational, my backside," she said. "I aspire to a lot of things. Doesn't mean I've fenced off the lounge."
A council spokesperson said the term referred to "a philosophy that anticipates community wellbeing outcomes". Asked whether anyone was maintaining anything at present, the spokesperson said the project was in its "scoping phase" and a consultant had been engaged. The consultant, per council records, is based in Auckland.
A neighbour, Dennis, said he'd offered to tighten the bolts on the slide with a shifter and was told that would void something. "Void what," Dennis said. "There's nothing there to void. It's a slide."
A second cone has now joined the first.
More yarns from Sockburn Council Chaos
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Reader Letters
★ Garry (Halswell)
Back in my day, such things wouldn't have happened in Sockburn. Playground maintenance was straightforward and swift, none of this so-called 'aspirational' fluff. We used to get things done properly.
★ BarryBishopdale
Remember when they fixed the footpaths in a week? Bloody cyclists! Everything takes a lifetime now because of them.
GranddadGreg
Mate, my grandkids have been waiting ages to use that playground. How long does it take to scope a slide?
★ BarryBishopdale
What a bloody joke! 'Aspirational maintenance' must be code for 'we'll do bugger all and charge rates for it'. The council strikes again.
KiwiDiana
Council’s idea of maintenance is rooted. Guess we'll just wait forever while nothing happens.
★ Trev_Hornby
Sounds like another piss-take from the council. Why not just let the locals handle it if it's 'void' anyway?
couchgremlin
Lol.
tired_in_riccarton
@couchgremlin Yep, it's hilarious watching them fumble.
★ Margaret_F
Remember the 90s when things just worked? Gerald always said it was because people were willing to put in elbow grease. The youth today just wait around for a consultant.
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