Councillors spent a day on the road this week, getting a closer look at the Ashburton Business Estate, the Wilkins Road wastewater treatment plant and several other important Council assets and infrastructure.

Mayor Liz McMillan said the bus trip was a great opportunity for new councillors to visit the places that were the subject of many Council reports and workshops, and hear from staff about how they operated.

“It’s good for experienced councillors too to update their knowledge, especially with the Annual Plan process underway and budgets for some of these activities being debated.”

The itinerary started at the Ashburton Business Estate, Council’s dedicated business park just north of Ashburton. The 80-hectare park is fully serviced and zoned for business, commercial and industrial purposes, with sections ranging from about 2400 square metres to 11,606 square metres.

The park is home to a wide range of businesses and it borders the new Fairfield rail freight hub.

At Ashburton Airport, councillors were hosted by Owen Moore from the Ashburton Aviation Museum, a tourist attraction that continues to expand and that has about 7000 visitors annually.

Council and airport users are currently discussing ways to better manage the wider facility.

The itinerary also included stops at the Ashburton Domain depot, EA Networks Centre, Ashburton Contracting Ltd (a Council-owned company), Lake Hood, the wastewater treatment facility and the Tinwald Domain.

The final stop of the day was to Elderly Person Housing units at Friendship Lane and McKee Place. Council has 102 units for elderly persons across seven sites around the district.

Mayor Liz said Council had replaced 18 units at Friendship Lane recently and there was ongoing maintenance to do on the other units.

"We'll be doing another trip soon to Methven and the foothills area, to see Council assets in that part of the district too."