After several slips have damaged the historic Dun Mountain Trail, questions remain over whether it will be widened for vehicle usage.
The trail was reinstated for walkers and cyclists last year, but vehicle access has not been possible due to the narrow width.
A Nelson City Council spokeswoman said the Dun Mountain Trail had been affected by slips twice in the last 15 months and the council was currently working with the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary Trust to find a solution for vehicle access.
‘‘Currently it is open for biking and walking but the trail has been reduced in width through one section, preventing vehicle access.’’
Brook Waimarama Sanctuary Trust general manager Hudson Dodd said consultation had occurred with users about their needs for future access to the Third House area.
He said as part of the construction of the sanctuary’s pest proof fence, a vehicle track had been constructed around the fence perimeter.
Dodd said consultation had shown the fence track met their needs of getting vehicles to the Third House area.
Nelson Residents Association vice president Pam Frahm said last year the association had prepared a 200 page report on the the trail, the sanctuary fence and the rain which caused the slips.
It detailed concerns about the slips and that digging for the fence construction had occurred within 50 metres of the trail. Frahm said full restoration should occur because of the archaeological significance of the trail.
‘‘The Nelson Residents Association has never been against the sanctuary, or the fence,’’ she said.
‘‘Other than wanting to see this local historic trail restored, our only concern is that the cost of construction, repair, and maintenance of the fence do not fall on the ratepayer.’’
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, August 9th, 2016)
A fourth generation Takaka dairy farmer has been issued a permit to mine an area in Te Waikoropupu valley in Golden Bay.
Gold miner Matthew Crawford, 27, will apply for a resource consent for a low-impact and smallscale mining operation on his family farmland adjacent to the pristine and protected springs reserve just out of Takaka.
Crawford spoke at the Golden Bay Community Board on Tuesday to reassure perturbed residents of his intentions.
He said the enterprise, which would use one screen and would cover a maximum of 4 hectares per year, would mine up to a depth of five metres.
‘‘There will be no chemicals whatsoever used,’’ he said. ‘‘There will be settling ponds and it’s going to be set up in the summer months when it’s really dry and the water from the settling pond will be hopefully be used for irrigation. Any excess water may be discharged into the main river will have been through settling ponds.’’
Crawford said under no circumstances would the water be discharged into Fish Creek.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, August 10th, 2016)
Retaining Golden Bay’s historic grandstand could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and would likely postpone the new multimillion dollar recreation facility’s opening.
Golden Bay Shared Recreation Facility (GBSRF) chairman Dean Lund said at the Golden Bay community board meeting the centre development was planned based on the removal of the grandstand.
‘‘Should the grandstand removal be delayed or stay then not only will car parks have to be engineered and developed elsewhere but the stormwater system will require to be re-planned,’’ he said.
The fate of the building now lies in the hands of Heritage New Zealand and the council is still preparing an application for consent to remove the building.
Tasman District Council (TDC) chief executive Lindsay McKenzie listed the various impacts of keeping the 119 year-old grandstand in a report to the council.
TDC property advisor and park project manager Jim Frater said any variation to the plans would come at a high cost. Asked if it would sit in the hundreds of thousands, he responded, ‘‘possibly’’.
TDC’s community development manager Susan Edwards said the new facility building could not be signed off for public use until the grandstand was made legal.
The new centre has a budget of $4 million.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, August 11th, 2016)
The Nelson Women’s Centre has celebrated the opening of a new building that will provide more space for its counselling work.
Nelson mayor Rachel Reese officially opened the building on Wednesday, after a community effort that was praised by speakers.
Before the new addition, the centre operated its counselling service from two rooms in its house on Trafalgar St which were often booked out. More than 5000 women pass through the centre’s doors every year.
Starting out with funding from Port Nelson who gave ‘‘a generous dollop of money’’, the help from the community snowballed with contributions from local businesses and a givealittle page.
The Women’s Centre is approaching a big anniversary, having provided services for nearly 20 years.
The Women’s Centre offered many services including counselling, social work support and workshops as well as being partners with Sexual Abuse and Healing.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, August 11th, 2016)
High-value property sales in Richmond and Motueka have caused the monthly median house prices to skyrocket above $500,000 in the regional centres.
The latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, released on Tuesday, showed the median house sale price in Richmond increased 11 per cent between June and July to $537,520.
Motueka experienced a 19 per cent rise in the same period bringing the town’s median house sale price to $502,000.
However, Nelson’s median price cooled in the mid-winter market, dropping 8.7 per cent to $411,000.
REINZ Nelson spokesman Darryl Marshall said the sale price surge in the regional centres was driven by high-value properties being snapped up in July.
‘‘In Richmond, definitely there were more houses that were selling up in that higher price range. So out of your 21 sales, over 50 per cent were in the $500-$700,000 range,’’ he said. ‘‘That boots it up.’’
Marshall said seven of the 12 house sales in Motueka in July were above $500,000 with at least one sale over $800,000.
He said Nelson’s dip was caused by more houses selling in the lower price bands.
Marshall said demand continued to outstrip supply and the market was showing no sign of slowing down.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, August 11th, 2016)
Local iwi have blessed the historic Suter Gallery in a ‘‘spine-tingling’’ dawn ceremony.
This morning’s blessing marked the completion of the building’s $12 million redevelopment.
The revamped Suter features two new art spaces, the Ann and John Hercus Gallery and Catherine and Craig Potton Gallery.
Suter Art Gallery director Julie Catchpole said now the art collection could be installed which would put the heart back into the building. She said about 150 people came to the event.
The gallery was built in 1989 making it one of New Zealand’s oldest galleries. It is due to reopen on October 2.
(The Nelson Mail, Friday, August 12th, 2016)
A suggestion the Salisbury School site could be turned into an intensive housing development if it is closed has caused concern.
Tasman mayor Richard Kempthorne raised the issue at a Tasman District Council meeting on Thursday.
The mayor, who has been a strong supporter of the residential school and its retention, said a suggestion had been made the land might be developed for intensive housing if the school was closed.
However, he stressed it was speculation and there was ’’nothing definitive’’.
Salisbury School caters for girls from years 3 to 11 who have complex intellectual impairment.
Education Minister Hekia Parata announced in June that she had initiated consultation with the school’s board over its future. That consultation closed on Friday.
Nelson MP Nick Smith has previously talked about the school property as a ’’prime’’ site and said he had accepted Salisbury could not go on in its current form.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, August 13th, 2016)
“When deeds speak,
words are nothing.”
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon