Developer Alan Trent is selling his two multimillion-dollar luxury homes and intends to build a new house in his $150 million coastal subdivision development in Tasman.
The developer is hoping to begin building his 180-hectare coastal subdivision called Harakeke between Ruby Bay and Tasman Village this year on land that was previously farmland, but said there were a few obstacles he must tackle before he is given the green light.
He released plans for the subdivision in July and was surprised that it drew only limited negative feedback from the public.
‘‘I was expecting probably about four to five hundred submissions from people that didn’t like the subdivision – we had 47,’’ he said. A resource consent hearing will take place on April 11.
The subdivision, which is being developed by Trent’s company Harakeke, would include about 130 residential sections, 55 apartments, commercial space, a village plaza, greenspace and 12 hectares of productive land.
The American developer has already spent $1 million in preliminary testing and landscaping of the area.
Trent said he had discussed the Harakeke development ‘‘in detail’’ with the Tasman District Council and was confident he had done all he could in preparation for the April hearing.
(The Nelson Mail, Monday, February 15th, 2016)
A $2.3 million refurbishment of Nelson College boarding hall Barnicoat House is well underway, with its completion expected in September.
Its residents moved into rival dormitory Rutherford House in December 2014 while works to transform Barnicoat from ‘‘barrack-style rooms’’ to dwellings similar to ‘‘a $250-a-night motel’’ occur, Nelson College principal Gary O’Shea said.
He said initial plans to complete works by May were stalled by heritage considerations for the 1931 building.
Long-term plans to renovate the college’s three boarding houses – Barnicoat, Rutherford and Fell – and make Rutherford a boarding house for younger preparatory school students were opposed by many boarding students in 2014, but O’Shea said those concerns had largely abated.
He believed students would eventually be ‘‘astounded’’ by the renovations, which will see eight new bedrooms and a communal kitchen and lounge area with flatscreen televisions, Xbox and Playstations added to Barnicoat House.
‘‘Society is changing and a boarding school of over 200 and fairly antiquated facilities is not tenable. Parents want their sons to have privacy now … You have to modernise.’’
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, February 16th, 2016)
New Zealand’s tender for the purchase of a piece of an Abel Tasman beach has been signed, sealed and delivered.
The deadline for tenders on the seven hectare property at Awaroa Inlet was 4pm yesterday. The crowdfunding campaign campaigners say they feel confident with the bid.
Duane Major and Adam Gard’ner have been working with Wellington lawyer Geoff Harley, law firm Bell Gully and Harcourts chief executive Chris Kennedy, who offered their services pro bono, on the campaign’s official tender document.
The Givealittle crowdfunding campaign closed at 3pm on Monday with a total of 39,249 donors pledging more than $2m to help buy the land, which includes 800m of pristine shoreline.
The private beach was bought by current owner Michael Spackman in 2008 for $1.92m.
Bayleys real estate agent Glenn Dick said he had received about 100 expressions of interest in the property.
‘‘Win or lose, I think New Zealand has done something special,’’ he said. ‘‘People have rallied and we know we’ve done our best.’’
Following the tender deadline, it could take up to five working days to find out who won. If the offer is accepted, the money will be drawn from the bank accounts of every individual and company who pledged, once Givealittle is satisfied with the paperwork. An agreement will be drawn up with DOC, or potentially another land trust, which will become the guardian of the property.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, February 17th, 2016)
The Nelson City Council is warning people to check if their pop up swimming pools are in line with regulations this summer.
With Nelson’s warm weather the past couple of months, lots of people have treated themselves with a big pool of refreshing water to get into, said Nelson City Council manager building Martin Brown.
Legislation requires most pop up pools to be fenced the same way permanent pools are.
The law requires pools with more than 400ml of water in it to be fenced with a 1.2m-high fence including a self closing gate.
The pool doesn’t need to be fenced is there’s less than 400ml water or if the side of the pool is higher than 1.2m.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, February 17th, 2016)
Abel Tasman beach campaigners say they empathise with local iwi who are claiming the property should be returned to Maori.
Wakatu Incorporation chairman Paul Morgan claims the private beach was taken ‘‘dubiously’’ by the Crown and it should be returned to local iwi.
Beach campaigner Duane Major said he understood this was not an easy issue for local Maori and there had not been a lot of time for them to process what was happening.
The area surrounding and including what is now Abel Tasman National Park was settled by Nga¯ti Ra¯rua, Nga¯ti Tama and Te Ati Awa.
Morgan said the land, which included burial grounds, was taken dubiously by the Crown.
The Wakatu¯ Incorporation was waiting on a Supreme Court decision on surrounding Maori property rights in the area.
In the meantime, Morgan said he wanted people to understand the significance the land had to mana whenua.
Meanwhile, Manawhenua ki Mohua Trust chairman Barney Thomas said he had been in communication with campaigners on a daily basis and was supportive of the campaign.
Thomas agreed it was important to highlight the site’s historical significance to Maori, which would hopefully come about if the campaign’s bid was successful. The campaign’s submission also included ways to involve local Maori youth in the management of the land.
In response to Morgan’s claims, Thomas said transferring ownership to local iwi was ‘‘easier said than done’’.
Ngati Tama Ki Te Waipounamu Trust chairwoman Leanne Manson said her iwi supported the position for the Awaroa Inlet to be preserved for New Zealanders.
Ngati Tama trustee Fred Te Miha said he believed the land should be returned to Maori. However, that was his personal opinion, not the position of the iwi.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, February 18th, 2016)
Some private landowners whose properties are required for the proposed Waimea Community Dam have called the offers they received ‘‘ridiculous’’.
Mitch Irvine described the offer he received as ‘‘40 pages of legal crap’’.
The Tasman District Council via its consultants, The Property Group, wanted to buy 23 hectares and lease another four on his forestry property in the Lee Valley, Irvine said.
However, the compensation offer he received was short on money and rationale.
He was also concerned about issues that were not covered in the offer such as roading and the buyback of carbon credits once chunks of the land were stripped of trees.
Justin Irvine said the offer his family received for access over their land north of the proposed dam site was disappointing.
‘‘We have an offer from The Property Group that, on a commercial basis, is not even in the ballpark,’’ he said. ‘‘We have other commercial agreements in place for access; it doesn’t even compare with them.’’
The landowners’ comments come as a report by TDC chief executive Lindsay McKenzie went before the full council yesterday.
In his report, McKenzie says that ‘‘around the end of next month’’, the council will be asked to issue notices of desire to acquire, which is the first stage in the acquisition of land under the Public Works Act.
Meanwhile, a separate process is under way for Department of Conservation, LINZ and Ngati Koata lands needed for the project.
Ngati Koata Trust Board chairman Frank Hippolite said Ngati Koata had not been given any offer but had been in talks with the council chief executive and those talks were due to resume shortly.
Acquiring land
There is a three-step process the council can follow to acquire land under the Public Works Act.
1. The first step is to issue notices of desire to acquire to the landowners. Once received, the landowners have a minimum of three months to negotiate. If no agreement is reached, the council can go to step two and issue notices of intention to take the land.
2. After they are served landowners who can’t reach agreement with the council have 20 days to lodge an objection in the Environment Court.
3. The final step is for the council to ask the Minister for Land Information to ask the Governor-General to issue a proclamation to take the land after which the ownership would pass to the council.
(The Nelson Mail, Friday, February 19th, 2016)
Left-wing lobby group Voice Nelson has taken its campaign for better rental housing to the Nelson City Council.
Representatives Mary Ellen O’Connor and Hilary Mitchell – a former city councillor – have asked the council to adopt a warrant of fitness for rented houses.
It is the latest move in the group’s efforts to improve the standard of rental properties in Nelson to make them healthier, safer and happier places for tenants.
They presented their case during the public forum at the council’s planning and regulatory committee meeting this week and chairman Brian McGurk asked for a staff report to be done.
O’Connor said Voice Nelson believed that rental housing in the city was ‘‘in a poor situation’’ and had run a survey of 1500-1800 houses in the rental areas of the Brook, Victory, Tahunanui and Stoke, and also online, to learn more.
The results showed that between 50 and 60 per cent of those who replied were paying more than 50 per cent of their household income in rent, with ‘‘very big issues’’ around mould, damp and condensation.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, February 20th, 2016)
“The secret of getting ahead,
is getting started.”
- Mark Twain.