Complex sentence: Leeston is growing relatively fast for a small town, having a 2006 population of 1,299 up 8.3%, or 99 people, since the 2001 census, significantly above the average population growth rate in New Zealand, though not as high as centres close to Christchurch.
Split into simpler sentences: Leeston is growing relatively fast for a small town, having a 2006 population of 1,299 up 8.3%, or 99 people, since the 2001 census. This is significantly above the average population growth rate in New Zealand, though not as high as centres close to Christchurch.