The long-awaited second Ashburton Bridge is a step closer with the signing of a key agreement. Read...

A man has been banned from owning horses for three years after his 12 horses were found to be underfed and living in poor conditions. Barry Alexander Hill, from Ashburton, has also been ordered to do 300 hours of community work. The 55-year-old was sentenced in the Ashburton District Court on eight charges under the Animal Welfare Act. Hill was also ordered to pay $5314.80 in reparations to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in reparations for veterinarian costs and placed on nine months’ supervision by the court. “Animal welfare inspectors visited this property numerous times and tried to get Mr Hill to take responsibility for his horses. He was directed to euthanise two horses to end their pain and suffering,” MPI district manager animal welfare and NAIT compliance Canterbury, Richard Notley said. Animal welfare inspectors inspected the property the horses were on and found them living in hazardous conditions. Hill had 12 horses on a 1.2ha property, but only had the capacity to hold two. MPI also said there wasn’t any grass cover for the horses to graze, a lack of supplementary feed and water and horses living in their own faeces. “Not only did Mr Hill fail to address any of the animal welfare concerns we identified but he ignored a Temporary Enforcement Order issued by the court that required him to remove all horses from the property within seven days.” MPI rehomed seven horses that were still on the property at another intervention and said “the horses’ suffering could have been avoided if Mr Hill had taken the action we earlier directed”. Read...

Juggling bills is hard, especially in a new country. As Ashburton`s Pasifika community grows, they`re sharing their hacks on heating, local resources and gardening. Read...

Ashburton District Council figures show that the value of parking infringements exceeded the budget by $124,567 in 2024/25 following the government-enforced price increases in October. Read...

State Highway 1 between Ashburton and Fairton is closed following a serious two-vehicle crash on Thursday evening. Read...

The man was taken to a hospital after being struck by a car but died five days later. Read...

An Ashburton man wants more road taxes generated in the district to be spent locally and the South Island minister says he will look at the proposal. Read...

Police were called after a report of a crash involving a car and a person in an electric wheelchair in Ashburton on Saturday. Read...

A woman fed up with seeing near-misses is campaigning for State Highway 1 between Rolleston and Ashburton to be increased to four lanes. Read...

Students were sent home at about 10am due to a lack of heating, lighting and internet, the school said. Read...