The region’s art lovers came out in droves to celebrate Nelson’s Suter Art Gallery reopening to the public after a two year $12 million refurbishment.
About 2000 people flowed through the art gallery yesterday to take in the modern architecture and restored history of the building.
About 200 people attended the opening on Saturday night, including staff, volunteers, trustees and city councillors. Catch pole said local iwi welcomed Reddy, after which Nelson mayor Rachel Reese and Bishop Suter Trust chairperson Craig Potion gave speeches. The Bishop of Nelson concluded the proceedings with a blessing of the building.
(The Nelson Mail, Monday, October 3rd, 2016)
A $1.5 million government grant will see the Nelson School of Music’s costly final touches covered making it ready for a scheduled opening next year.
The outside of the heritage Nelson music hall was described as the scene from a bomb site or Christchurch earthquake rebuild. However, yesterday the sound of a popped champagne bottle reverberated off the remaining walls of what will be the third major refurbishment of a Nelson arts and culture venue.
The money will allow the refurbishment to complete all three stages before the scheduled October 2017 deadline and include the replacement of roof finials and the original organ which has been stored until structural work is complete.
Nelson School of Music Trust chairman Roger Taylor said the ‘‘exciting’’ announcement took the pressure off the community to raise the funds within the year to see the project complete.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, October 5th, 2016)
New home builds and sea views are the latest area of the housing market to become increasingly popular, latest Quotable Value statistics show.
Home values in Nelson have increased by 14 per cent since this time last year. The average price in the city is now $476,817, in September 2015 it was $417,934.
Compared to the last market peak in 2007, house prices in Nelson have increased 24.5 per cent.
In Tasman house prices increased by 11.4 per cent over the past year, the median house price in September 2015 was $426,852, it is now $475,427.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, October 5th, 2016)
The future of a Motueka Valley eco-village is uncertain as its corporate trustee goes into liquidation owing creditors about $10 million.
Atamai Village is a not-for-profit permaculture community billed as being ‘‘designed to deal with the impacts of climate change, energy descent and the economic and social challenges that are likely to follow’’. It will now have all its trust-owned land sold off.
Village Stewards Ltd, the latest in a series of failed companies tied to Atamai, went into liquidation last week with $1.5m in assets. The company controls land owned by the Atamai Land Trust, which is responsible for the development of Atamai Village.
Among its 23 unsecured creditors are Tasman District Council, several law firms, and a handful of the village’s own residents, some of whom have bankrolled the controversial development.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, October 6th, 2016)
A doctor and retired businessman have combined to create a new community health centre in Mapua and help stave off a “crisis” in the system.
GP Tim Phillips and retired Mapua businessman Dale Vercoe gave a “heads up” presentation about the centre at a meeting of the Mapua and Districts Community Association in September. Since then, they said a number of “enthusiastic, encouraging and supportive” people had been in touch.
Phillips said an economic advisory team was beginning to form and representatives from the PHO and hospice had visited the site, known as the Ridgeway, along Mapua Drive.
The property was gifted by Vercoe who said he wanted to give back to the community.
The proposed health centre would provide services the community signalled it needed, which would support those offered by the district health board and other healthcare providers. Those services could include residential and palliative healthcare along with overnight accommodation for people not well enough to be at home. The centre would also have the potential to host ambulance services.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, October 6th, 2016)
A key site at Port Nelson has been snapped up by the Nelson City Council to add to future marina development.
The council spent $1.28 million on former Totally Boating site before the business closed down in December last year. It is now being used as boating storage.
Earlier in the year a Marina Strategy was drafted for the council which outlined areas to focus on to make the most of marina use.
The draft stated there was a need to ‘‘increase space available to cater for a range of activities including training, changing facilities and storage of equipment’’.
The purchase of the Akersten St property was expected to increase the flexibility of of the area for ‘‘future marina development’’.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, October 6th, 2016)
A proposed Countdown supermarket at the entrance to Richmond is tipped to drain millions of dollars in retail spending from Richmond and Stoke town centres.
Some experts fear the construction of the store along with the development of an already consented New World supermarket near Three Brothers Corner in south Richmond could put some existing supermarkets at risk of closure.
Property Economics Ltd project leader Tim Heath, an expert for TDC, says in a report that $25m that would have been expected to be spent in Stoke in 2018 could be diverted away.
Supermarket giant Progressive Enterprises Ltd wants to change the zoning so it can build a Countdown supermarket on the corner of Salisbury and Champion roads.
A hearing on the plan change request is due to get underway on Monday before independent commissioner Dave McMahon.
In a report, TDC policy planner Jacqui Deans says she is unable to make an overall recommendation on whether the request should be approved, approved with changes or declined.
The range of potential impacts are shown in different scenarios including higher impacts on Richmond; average impacts across Stoke and Richmond; and higher impacts on Stoke.
Under the higher-impacts-on-Richmond scenario, Richmond Pak ’n Save is tipped to have $8.3m in potential sales diverted in 2018 due to the new Countdown or $25.9 if both the Countdown and the consented New World at Three Brothers Corner go ahead.
For Richmond Fresh Choice, it’s $3.1m or $8.3m.
Heath says, in his view, the higher impacts-on-Stoke scenario is the most likely outcome. Stoke was not a ‘‘performing centre’’.
However, in his evidence, the expert for Progressive, Derek Foy, of Market Economics Ltd says in his assessment, the four stores in the centres were all performing well and would be ‘‘very unlikely to close’’ as a result of the impacts from the proposed Countdown.
He points to a ‘‘number of positive economic effects’’, including improved travel efficiency and greater accessibility to goods and services, a short-term increase in construction; increased competition and choice; and a net increase in regional employment.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, October 8th, 2016)
“When one must,
one can.”
Charlotte Whitton