The beautifully coloured leadlight windows at Old St John’s Church in Nelson are being restored to their former glory.
Owners Ali and Eelco Boswijk are having the historic windows regrouted and checked as part of the restoration work they began after buying the church and associated buildings in 2012.
Their aim was to turn the Hardy St church into a performance venue, and to ensure that its presence remained in the city.
Ali said she was excited about the building’s need developments.
“It’s an ongoing project. I’d love to say it was finished. We’re getting there”, she said.
(The Nelson Mail, Monday, April 11th, 2016)
‘Severe’ corrosion pushes out budget
A new roof and some other work has added another $600,000 to Nelson’s $12.95 million Trafalgar Centre rebuild, with the prospect of another $270,000 in the pipeline.
The extra spending, some of which will come from the project’s risk allocation budget, comprises $250,000 for the main stadium roof, $140,000 for work on the stadium’s western corridor, $80,000 on insulating and re-lining the northern wall and $130,000 on building administration offices.
Business cases will be prepared by the end of the month on putting in a lift to access the eastern mezzanine floor, estimated to cost $170,000, and adding $100,000 worth of high definition television lighting in the main stadium to cater for Sky TV broadcasts.
Consulting engineer Richard Kirby suggested a new roof on top of the existing one was the best option, potentially giving additional insulation and soundproofing.
The target completion date for the project remains mid-October, but Reese said efforts were being made to bring that forward.
(The Nelson Mail, Friday, April 15th, 2016)
The proposed Waimea dam is critical to the wider region, says experienced businessman John Palmer.
Palmer, a noted director and former chairman of Air New Zealand whose family business is in horticulture, has picked up some of the work that was being handled by Waimea Community Dam Ltd (WCDL) project director Nick Patterson, who died at the end of January.
The dam as proposed in the Lee Valley would provide the ‘‘longterm fix’’ needed for a reliable water source. While irrigators on the Waimea Plains would be the primary beneficiaries of the dam, others would also benefit, Palmer said. The Tasman District Council needed to provide water for urban and industrial usage as well as meet its environmental obligations to maintain the health of the river.
WCDL, which was focused on representing water users’ interests, had commissioned a report by Northington Partners in Christchurch to outline the economic and social effects of a no-dam scenario in a wider regional sense.
An earlier New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) report outlined the financial benefits of a dam ‘‘but didn’t quantify the negative impact of not having it’’. ‘‘It is so obvious that this (the dam) is the right thing to be doing,’’ Kempthorne said. ‘‘The big challenge is getting the funding model and funding the dam.’’
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, April 16th, 2016)
I can’t change the direction of the wind,
but I can adjust my sails to always reach
my destination.
— James Dean