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On a crisp and cloudy fall afternoon people from The County gathered at the Legacy Ranch and Event Center to partake in trying seasonal beer from a couple of local breweries.
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Timaru District mayor Nigel Bowen removes the padlock to reopen the previously closed portion of the Saltwater Creek walkway.
The long-closed walkway at Saltwater Creek may have reopened on Friday but Timaru s other popular stroll at Smithfield remains closed as the landowner puts together a plan that will decide its future accessibility. Alliance Group, which owns the closed section of the Smithfield Walkway land, said “an in-depth site investigation identified relatively low levels of asbestos-containing fragments within some historic building materials, which a previous landowner had likely used to in-fill the land many years ago”. “Alliance Group is working with Environment Canterbury (ECan) and Timaru District Council on a feasibility plan to temporarily open the pathway, however the health and safety of the community is paramount and the walkway must remain closed until Alliance Group and the local authorities are satisfied it is safe to access,” th
Landowner Alliance Group is in charge of cleaning up the asbestos, in consultation with Environment Canterbury. Two years later the clean-up has not begun, and residents appear to have taken to using the path again. One of the gates closing the path, from the north approach, has been removed, and the signs saying “walkway closed until further notice” have been removed from both approaches.
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Aerial view showing where the gate closing off the Smithfield Walkway from the northern approach used to be. With no gate or warning that the path is closed,
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. A Timaru District Council spokesperson said “We inspected the area today following your report and found the fencing and signage at the northern area of the pathway was missing.