Letter from Todd Property in response to residents' concerns about tree removal, signs at Lake Pegasus, water quality at the Lake and removal of sunken boat and concrete pillars.
To the Pegasus Residents Association,
We are writing to provide information for Pegasus Town residents relating to concerns expressed recently about several issues.
We will post this same information on our Pegasus Facebook page but would appreciate it if you could also circulate this information to any residents who have questions about these issues.
Tree removal and replacement
While tree removal and replacement is an ongoing process at Pegasus, we apologise for not notifying residents prior to the recent removal of a particular batch of trees given that the process involved a significant number at one time. We were asked by the Waimakariri District Council to remove the trees following a report it commissioned from an arborist. We will now properly prepare and condition the empty tree pits and replanting will take place in autumn, which is the optimal planting season. Once again, we are sorry for not alerting residents in advance of the current process and will endeavour to notify people in future if significant removal and replanting is required.
Signs at Lake Pegasus
Todd Property is planning to erect new signs at Lake Pegasus warning users that the water is deep and that the use of the lake is at their own risk. We are taking this action in response to a recommendation made by the Coroner in September in response to the tragic death of a swimmer in 2012. The Council has also indicated it may erect ‘swimming not recommended’ signs when it takes ownership of the lake.
Water quality at Lake Pegasus
Our experts monitor the quality of the lake every month. While our resource consent only requires us to meet secondary contact water quality, allowing for wading and boating, we are in fact exceeding that and achieving primary contact levels, which includes swimming and diving.
The lake at Pegasus is man-made but is naturally spring fed and the water is constantly discharging and replacing itself. The quality of the water is a natural occurrence assisted by the lake’s design, requiring limited maintenance. We undertake targeted spraying of weed growing in the lake using a non-residual aquatic herbicide and the Waimakariri District Council is responsible for maintaining the beaches.
Removal of sunken boat and concrete pillars
As with all assets of this nature, Lake Pegasus will at some point in the future become publicly owned and operated by the Waimakariri District Council. At that time, the Council will set certain conditions that Todd Property will be required to meet before the handover. Preliminary discussions have been held and the Council has set out draft conditions including the potential removal of the sunken boat and concrete pillars. As a result of that, Todd Property has investigated the process that may be necessary to meet those conditions. However it is important to note that the final decision to remove these features rests with Council and Todd Property will not take any action until it is required to do so.
As the developer of Pegasus Town, we value our relationship with residents and appreciate the feedback that we receive. We hope that this information helps ease the concerns expressed in the past few days.
We also hope that residents and their families enjoyed the Christmas at the Lake celebrations yesterday. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.
Kind Regards,
Evan Davies
Managing Director
Todd Property Group