A plan for Nelson and Tasman councils to jointly operate the region’s landfills has been given the green light by the Commerce Commission.

The Nelson city and Tasman district councils last year asked for Commerce Commission authorisation to establish a Regional Landfill Business Unit to manage and operate the York Valley site at Bishopdale and the Eves Valley landfill at Waimea West.

The commission granted authorisation for the plan, subject to conditions, this week.

Commission chairman, Dr Mark Berry, said that the proposed business unit would remove the existing competition between the two landfills.

The York Valley landfill would be used until it reaches capacity, expected to be sometime after 2030.

The two councils will share the costs of re-developing the Eves Valley landfill, which will be reopened once York Valley has closed.

The Tasman District Council agreed to pay $4.2 million to Nelson City Council to compensate for the difference in values between the city’s York Valley site and Eves Valley.

(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 26 April 2017)

Buying a ‘P house’ might not appeal to everyone, but with property prices rising around the country, buyers are eyeing up contaminated houses as a cheap bet in a hot market.

Bargain hunters could leverage the fact homes are contaminated to get tens of thousands off the asking price, pay to get them decontaminated and then do their own renovations.

Sean Johnson is the owner of Restore, a company providing cleaning and decontamination services in Nelson and Blenheim.

Johnson said prospective buyers, who he described as bargain hunters, would try and leverage the fact a property was contaminated to try and shave as much as $100,000 off the price.

(The Nelson Mail, Thursday 27 April 2017)

Nelsonians can now be expected to pay $380 a week for a rental property in the region – an increase of almost than 12 per cent in the last five years.

However, most of that jump has come in the last year when the median rental price increased from $360.

However, it is those in small houses and apartments who have bore the brunt of the change with apartment dwellers paying 25 per cent more than five years ago.

(The Nelson Mail, Friday 28 April 2017)

Taking his mentally-ill son’s care into his own hands has led a Nelson man to extol the virtues of second dwellings in meeting the region’s housing demand.

David Barnes and his wife Jennifer share their Stoke property with David’s parents, who live downstairs, as well as their 33-year-old son Samuel.

As a way of giving their son a settled environment close to his family, Barnes and his wife Jennifer made the decision last year to build a self-contained cottage at the rear of the property.

Building and resource management consent was obtained, but Barnes had to explain their reasons for building it. The build, designed and built by Versatile homes, cost a total of $110,000 and took about three months to complete.

Under the Building Act 2004, buildings additional to a dwelling (such as sleepouts) used in connection with a dwelling, less than 10m2 floor area, no sanitary facilities or potable water storage, not closer than its own height to any residential building or legal boundary, do not require building consent.

Building coverage of the net area of any property in lower density areas like Stoke must not exceed 30 per cent. Barnes’ section is 607m2, while the house is 270m2 over two floors.

The one-bedroom second dwelling, measuring about 30m2, contains a toilet, kitchen, lounge, and ensuite bathroom.

Nelson City Council manager of communications, Paul Shattock, said while the idea was not a new one, it was being considered as part of the current Nelson Plan review.

Residents would be able to make a submission to the council when the draft plan was released in October.

(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 29 April 2017)

Thought for the Week

(Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama)