Environmentalists are questioning if iwi and mining interests saw three outstanding features excluded from a long-awaited draft plan to protect Golden Bay’s most beautiful landscapes.

Mt Burnett near Collingwood, Sam’s Creek in the Cobb Valley and the remote Te Tai Tapu Block on Golden Bay’s south-west coast were left out of the Tasman District Council’s final Outstanding Natural Landscapes and Features draft report.

The three areas are all part of the Northwest Nelson Forest Park and are subject to mining permits. Public submissions released in February revealed an overwhelming desire to protect the three areas and have them included.

Council communications advisor Chris Choat said all the public feedback was taken into consideration by the council, as it looked to form the draft plan for consultation.

(The Nelson Mail, Monday 6 March 2017)

A celebration of the completion of Takaka’s new Rec Park Centre acknowledged the construction team who worked for nine months to complete the building.

However, hold-ups over the status of the historic grandstand at the site means the centre is yet to be issued with a certificate of public use.

The opening gala was held on Saturday night at the new facility, and over 200 members of the community attended.

Golden Bay Shared Recreation Facility (GBSRF) funding manager Sara Chapman said it was also a ‘‘thank you’’ to the community, who supported the project for seven years.

The GBSRF would appoint a centre manager before shifting its focus on finishing the netball courts and a permanent car park.

(The Nelson Mail, Monday 6 March 2017)

The public will be consulted in two stages over the proposed multimillion dollar Waimea dam in the Lee Valley, near Nelson.

The issue of public consultation sparked a robust discussion around the Tasman District Council table on Thursday with some councillors suggesting one hit would be better.

Cr Peter Canton was concerned the community could get ‘‘consulted out’’. Others were worried it might be too difficult to split the issues.

Cr Mark Greening called for the consultation to include asking the public if they wanted a dam and whether the council should commit $28 million to the estimated $82.5m project. The council has earmarked $25m for the proposal in its Long Term Plan 2015-25; its share of earlier sunk costs is about $3m.

As suggested by staff, the first stage of consultation in April-May is set to focus on the governance arrangement and key commercial terms.

It is proposed that the council forms a joint venture with dam proponent Waimea Irrigators Ltd (WIL) under a limited partnership arrangement that is also a Council Controlled Organisation.

Consultation on how the council funding for the dam will be apportioned among water users and other ratepayers is due to be part of the second round of consultation in September-October.

‘‘We’re damned if we do and we’re damned if we don’t,’’ McKenzie said. ‘‘Our only advice is incrementally lay the foundation stones and then put yourselves in a position, if the council so chooses, to go back to your community ... and seek the mandate for the decision around the financial close.’’

(The Nelson Mail, Monday 6 March 2017)

A planned $30 million, six-storey apartment complex set to be Nelson’s ‘‘biggest and most expensive’’ has been withdrawn from the market because of low pre-sales.

The Saltwater Creek apartments, overlooking Anzac and Rutherford parks, won approval as a Special Housing Area (SHA) in Haven Rd, and construction was set to start in April.

But the lack of presales has forced developer Bernard Downey to pull the pin on initial designs. Downey said last year that unless 70 per cent of apartments were sold before April, construction would be delayed.

Yesterday, he said he would review the entire design and ‘‘consider options going forward’’ after being ‘‘quite a ways off’’ the sales goal.

Downey would not comment on the total deposits received, saying it was commercially sensitive but all deposits would be refunded.

Designs for Saltwater Creek were revealed last November with plans for 32 apartments ranging from single bedroom units priced at $395,000 to a penthouse at $1.95m.

(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 8 March 2017)

A Golden Bay group wants the council and community to fund a proposed cycleway linking Pohara to Takaka.

The Takaka-Pohara Cycleway and Walkway Community Group is working with the Tasman District Council on a project to build a commuter trail along the busy and narrow Abel Tasman Drive from Pohara to Meihana and Motupipi Streets in Takaka.

The biggest standalone construction item would likely be a bridge across the Motupipi Stream on an existing road reserve and bridge alignment.

Public feedback will be sought by the group.

Tasman District Council road engineer Jeremy Katterns said others would benefit from the shared pathway.

(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 8 March 2017)

Drive past the new Corder Park pump station in Atawhai Drive and you might think the Nelson City Council spent $6 million on a green chimney.

The chimney is the only prominent feature of the two-year, multi-million dollar project that can be seen from the road.

But beneath the surface is a concrete bunker fitted out with state-of-the-art technology designed to future-proof Nelson’s sewage management for the next 20 years.

The upgrade was in response to pipe failures that saw sewage leaking out into Tasman Bay.

Council senior engineering officer Mike Booker said the pump station, between Atawhai Crescent and State Highway 6, went live last week.

The pump station is located about four kilometres from the city centre, mid-way between the Neale Park pump station and the Nelson Wastewater Treatment Plant in Boulder Bank Drive.

Booker said the upgrade, which cost $6.3m — about $1m over budget — would take pressure off the Neale Park pump station.

The Neale Park pump station, also constructed in the 1960s, is in line for a $6.3m upgrade, starting later this year.

The tender process was expected to be completed by June.

Booker said the Corder Park site was historically used by Maori for landing waka and a totara tree had been planted to recognise this.

(The Nelson Mail, Thursday 9 March 2017)

Nelson’s Roundhay Retirement Village is planning a major new development which will provide rest home or hospital-level care for elderly residents.

Owner Patrick Meffan said he had bought a piece of land from the owner of Franklyn Village, a lowcost apartment complex across from Nelson Hospital.

A house was recently moved from the 2000 square-metre property, adjacent to the retirement village in Kawai St.

Meffan, a consultant urologist, said the purchase was finalised in December last year.

He said there was a concept plan to build a multi-storey facility on the site that would provide rest home or hospital-level care — or a mixture of both — for retirement village residents.

The Roundhay plan is one of several major retirement village projects which are either in development or in the pipeline across the Nelson-Tasman region.

Oceania Healthcare has announced an $18 million redevelopment of Green Gables rest home and retirement village in Bridge St, which is scheduled to start in April.

Oceania is also tearing down 14 of its one-bedroom units to contstruct eight, two-bedroom houses at Omaio Village in Stoke.

Christchurch-based developers Alpine Village Retirement Group are building a $125m retirement village on Nelson’s Port Hills, while a $100 million Summerset retirement village to be built in the area around Saxton Field was approved by Nelson City Council as a Special Housing Area in July.

(The Nelson Mail, Friday 10 March 2017)

The son of the financiers of a controversial eco village project near Motueka has swooped in to buy up land which was sold off as part a liquidation process.

Village Stewards Ltd, a company which controlled land at Atamai Village, went into liquidation last year with a final report showing it owed $8.5 million. However, the majority of that was for secured creditors.

Canadian couple Jack and Joanna Santa Barbara have been involved in the development for many years and have helped finance the project. The Santa Barbara Family Foundation is one of the secured creditors that will receive a share of $860,000 after a plot of Atamai land was sold off.

The buyer is one time film director Jeff Santa Barbara, who is Jack and Joanna’s son.

The liquidation means the original vision of Atamai Village, which was to be an eco village community made up of 50 sections, will not be able to grow beyond the 10 households that currently live there.

The sale of the liquidated lot has also raised eyebrows with neighbours who have watched the struggles of the ambitious concept since Atamai was first announced in 2006.

Convener of the Atamai Village Council, which represents Atamai’s villagers, Hemon Dey said it was a shame that the development went into liquidation as it had implications for its future.

‘‘It is sad that the village is its entirety ... is not going to come to fruition. I don’t know what’s going to come .... it’s hard to say for sure.’’

(The Nelson Mail, Friday 10 March 2017)

The Nelson City Council has approved investment of almost $50 million as part of an infrastructure spend that will push residents’ rates up by 2.8 per cent.

The council on Thursday adopted its consultation document for the 2017/18 draft Annual Plan. Mayor Rachel Reese said the plan continued the momentum of the Long Term Plan to support the region.

For the 2017/18 year, the capital programme is proposed to be $47.3m. Projects include stormwater upgrades at York Stream and Saxton Creek, walking and cycling projects throughout the city, and the Neale Park pump station upgrade.

Other projects to provide better use of the city would also be developed this year, such as $400,000 for further work on the development of the Haven Precinct.

Two new mountainbike tracks to link the Maitai to the Tantragee Saddle as well as design work for a new mountainbike hub in the Maitai Valley were also included in the plan.

The council has produced a consultation document which outlines the key projects. The consultation period will run from March 17 to April 18.

Submissions can be made from March 17, at nelson.govt.nz.

(The Nelson Mail, Friday 10 March 2017)

A residential development on a hill overlooking Little Kaiteriteri has transformed the coastal landscape forever — but the public never had a say on it.

Award-winning architect Kerry Mason, who owns property in Kaiteriteri, said it was ‘‘staggering’’ that the Tasman District Council approved the consent application without notifying the public.

But council environment and planning manager Dennis Bush-King said the land has been zoned for residential purposes since at least 1996 and public notification wasn’t required.

The excavation work for the first stage of the subdivision on the headland between Stephens Bay and Little Kaiteriteri has been underway since May last year and is expected to be completed within a month.

The development is being undertaken by a family-run company, Beaches and Bays Kaiteriteri Ltd, which has owned the 14 hectares of land for decades.

The subdivision comprises 28 residential allotments, ranging between 650 and and 4720 square metres, according to the resource consent decision.

The houses will offer stunning views across Tasman Bay from the prime, elevated location above Little Kaiteriteri.

Bush-King said the bulk of the land was zoned for residential development and the adverse effects on the environment were not deemed significant.

He said the long list of conditions attached to the consent were designed to ensure the development was managed appropriately.

(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 11 March 2017)

Nelson College has big plans to become a major player in the local accommodation market as it pushes ahead with plans that have seen the school turn over almost $5 million last year.

The school has increasingly looked to develop its facilities as a way to stave off the financial pressures that come with educating 1300 boys.

It turned over almost $4.8m last year through renting out its boarding facilities, income from international and prep school students.

The school is also preparing to open its refurbished Barnicoat boarding house next week. The $2.3m upgrade, which was funded by the school, is part of a five-year strategic plan to increasingly rent out the college’s facilities.

‘‘If I’ve got advantages I’m going to use them,’’ said headmaster Gary O’Shea.

The upgrade of Barnicoat would see it turned from ‘‘barrackstyle rooms’’ to dwellings similar to ‘‘a $250-a-night motel,’’ O’Shea said.

O’Shea hoped that the redevelopment of Rutherford House would start next year. This would cost less that $2.5m as it was a ‘‘carbon copy’’ of Barnicoat. Fell House would be developed later.

The eventual plan was to rent Fell’s 90 beds out full time. This operation would be overseen by a dedicated commercial manager.

(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 11 March 2017)

Tasman residents are being urged to think now about projects they would like included in Tasman District Council’s long-term planning.

‘‘If you want something included or are having concerns about something, please let us know,’’ Cr David Ogilvie said.

The council is seeking input from the community on what should be in its Long Term Plan 2018-28 as it begins to formulate its budgets and plans for the 10-year period.

TDC has to review its Long Term Plan every three years.

His comments relate to a 2014 law change, which included the removal of the requirement for councils to produce draft Annual Plans. Councils whose Annual Plans do not make any ‘‘significant or material’’ changes to their Long Term Plans can go straight to a final Annual Plan and rating resolution, meaning formal consultation with the community is not required. TDC took up this option for its 2016-17 Annual Plan and again for its 2017-18 Annual Plan, which is about to go out for community feedback.

(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 11 March 2017)

The Golden Bay community has banded together to voice their concerns that the country’s largest freshwater springs might be under threat from increased irrigation plans.

About 400 people attended the FLAG Open Day yesterday during the afternoon and evening sessions in Takaka, seeking clarification on the safety of the Te Waikoropupu Springs.

They included residents of the Nelson and Tasman districts, council staff and its scientists, and representatives from the Green Party, Labour Party and Greenpeace.

Te Waikoropupu is the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere and contains some of the clearest waters ever measured on earth.

Residents and campaigners are anxious about the Tasman District Council’s (TDC) proposal to allocate a further 356 litres per second of water for dairy farms from the Takaka catchment, on top of the current 500 litres per second limit.

Ngati Tama ki Te Waipounamu has applied directly to the Environment Minister Nick Smith for an unprecedented water conservation order for the aquifer that feeds the springs.

(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 11 March 2017)

Thought for the Week

A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.

(Billie Jean King)