28 | Clutha District Council T T Aimee Wilson CDC making things happen in Milton In June 2023, council started upgrading Milton’s ageing infrastructure. “There are so many threads coming together here. Anything Calder Stewart does is done with tenacity and perfection. When they announced their plans, you can bet they are going to do it well.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT The redevelopment of a small South Otago town is underway, thanks to the Clutha District Council, with the recent news about Milton’s planned $3 billion inland port also giving it a boost. Mayor Bryan Cadogan is excited about the future of his district, which he thinks will encourage more young people to stay in the area. Ten years ago, the council started thinking strategically about its future – the district’s population had decreased from 18,600 to just 16,400 across its 13 small rural towns. A lot of its facilities were old and tired, “and many people didn’t want a 1960s’ main street anymore,” Bryan says. In June 2023, council started upgrading Milton’s ageing infrastructure – investing $6 million into underground power lines, revitalising the main highway, and now street-scaping to give it more aesthetic appeal. The CDC deputy chief executive, Jules Witt, says there is also a new $19.4 million community pool to be constructed later in the year, and a library, which will be twice the size of the existing one. “These will add additional vibrancy to the town,” he says. The cycle trail link from Lawrence through to Waihola has recently been completed, and eventually will see bikers hop off a plane in Queenstown and be able to ride right through to Dunedin. Jules says the council is investing in Milton for the predicated growth as part of its ‘Living and Working’ strategy. A new, first stage 90-section residential subdivision is underway at Springwell Rise – with plans for it to be up to 10% of the size of the existing town, and offering affordable housing options. Private investment from Calder Stewart for its key transport hub and distribution centre is seen as an absolute game changer, offering huge employment opportunities for the district. Bryan says they have known for 10 years about Calder Stewart’s plans, and the challenge for council was being able to plan for that key infrastructure to support it. “There are so many threads coming together here. Anything Calder Stewart does is done with tenacity and perfection. When they announced their plans, you can bet they are going to do it well.” Building an inland port is partly to help move all the daily truck-transport movements off the state highway and on to rail. “They are one of the largest construction companies in New Zealand and they’re dedicated to staying local,” Bryan says, adding it was the largest thing to happen in the district in over a decade. Referring to what the council had already helped achieve in another South Otago town , Kaitangata, which now has a growing community of families, who are building affordable homes in the quaint rural township, Bryan says: “You wouldn’t believe the pride that has been put into that town.” That blueprint for affordable houses built on $75,000 sections, is now starting to roll out across other towns in the district, such as Milton. “This is the way we are going. Our district needs more people.” The new investment would be quite transformational for Milton, Bryan says, and the combination of the new with the old, such as its beautiful old church on the state highway, mixed with new housing and developments, would make it a great place to live. That and the ‘community champions’, who all make the small town run smoothly through their generous volunteering work. “There are challenges but some blimmin’ good people put their hands up in the community to make things happen.”
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