There will be fewer Anzac Day services in the Riccarton area this year owing to changes following the March mosque tragedy.

The city's two main services will be the dawn parade at Cranmer Square, starting at 6.30am, and a citizens’ service in the Anglican Cathedral, Latimer Square, at 10.00am.

However, the 20th Battalion Association's service in Jane Deans Close, Riccarton, has been cancelled. The only two services in the wider Riccarton area will be at the University of Canterbury's Matiriki Quad at 10am, and at theAir Force Museum, Wigram, at 12.00 midday.

A long-standing Anzac Day service in Upper Riccarton has been cancelled, but for other reasons. This year would have marked 100 years since the Upper Riccarton War Memorial Library was opened to remember the men from the district who gave their lives in World War 1. But the City Council closed the library in October 2017 over concerns at the building’s strength.

Library chairwoman Aynslie Walter says it was the only dawn service in Riccarton, so it’s very sad the event has had to be cancelled.