There will be be no aerial 1080 drop in the Nelson Lakes National Park after lower than expected rat numbers were recorded.
A 1080 drop is still planned for the Abel Tasman next month.
The Department of Conservation’s Battle for our Birds operation will soon be under way and while Nelson Lakes will have no drops, other areas earmarked for the aerial poison operation in the top of the south include the Abel Tasman National Park, Mokihinui and Maruia, south of Murchison.
Rat, mice and stoat numbers had been monitored across a wide range of locations and this information was being used to confirm sites for aerial 1080 treatment.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, June 21st, 2016)
Most of Paru Paru Rd in central Nelson has been permanently closed as redevelopment continues in and around the Trafalgar Centre.
Work has restarted in the area after the end of the Nelson Giants basketball season. The Nelson City Council said Paru Paru Rd beyond the Trafalgar Centre entrance would be removed and the area west of Maitai Walkway will be levelled to around the same height as the walkway.
The Nelson City Council said those who used the road to park will have access to a small carpark by the squash court which will be sealed when weather conditions allow.
The council said the floor in the main stadium will be sanded and recoated at the end of this month and sections of the ceiling and multi-purpose rooms on the first floor of the southern end will be reinstalled. The western corridor floor has been removed and half the floor in the northern building has been poured. Rutherford Park access roads, carparks and the plaza area is under construction and landscaping has begun in the large carpark where students from Auckland Point School recently helped plant trees and other plants.
A decision on whether the Trafalgar Centre roof will be replaced is expected in a few weeks.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, June 21st, 2016)
The Nelson City Council will look to invest $1 million towards the building of a new road to connect Princes Drive with Montreal Rd.
The work would come alongside the proposed 210-lot Special Housing Area (SHA) subdivision, Toi Toi Grove Development, via the 2017/18 annual plan process.
The developer of the proposed lot would subsequently link Toi Toi St, via the roundabout to the newly linked Montreal Rd.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, June 21st, 2016)
Nelson Netball has asked the Nelson City Council to upgrade the Trafalgar Centre in the hopes the region won’t be overlooked when it comes to hosting national and international games.
The Trafalgar Centre has no permanent rigging and lighting to host televised games without having to hire a temporary set up. This amounts to a cost of about $7300 per game which is being passed on to the supporters.
Recent prices showed Aucklanders paid $25 for a seat to ANZ Championship games compared to $35 for a seat in Nelson. Tickets to the same game in Christchurch cost $30.50.
All netball games under the ANZ Championship are broadcast by Sky which requires lighting equipment for filming. Most other main centres have the required gear already installed as part of the venue.
While the Trafalgar Centre hosts a number of events, netball is the only sport televised from the centre.
Until recently, SKY and Netball Mainland shared the costs of the additional expenses in preparing the Trafalgar Centre for broadcasting games but from now on, Netball Mainland would have to foot the entire bill.
Without the council installing lighting and rigging, it will either take a toll on ticket prices or a toll on Nelson as a host city.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016)
The Nelson City Council is considering an application for a townhouse development on Domett St.
Property owner and retired engineer Mark Sherlaw is looking to build a six-townhouse development on his 1948 square metre block.
The plan, along with other Special Housing Area (SHA) applications, will appear on the council agenda on June 30 to meet the region’s proposal deadline.
Sherlaw told Nelson City councillors he intended to live in one of the townhouses, which would sit alongside the Maitai River, near the corner of Hardy St and behind Maitai School.
‘‘I want to retain the same terrace house concept. I would definitely be keeping the shape, pitched rooves and wide soffits to fit in with the surrounding older houses ... keeping to a simple two storey structure with most of the building set well back from Domett St,’’ he said.
‘‘There is no need to provide large outdoor living areas as part of this development as there is the Centre of New Zealand just over the river, mountainbiking at the front-door and many walks.’’
He said the development would aid the demand for inner city housing. Sherlaw said his application would involve a re-zone of the property from low density to allow for the build.
Sherlaw said retirees, like him, cried out for inner-city living and had ‘‘disposable income’’ to use.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016)
The Nelson Tasman Housing Trust is urging the Government to bring back capital grants funding as it contemplates how to keep its building scheme alive.
The not-for-profit trust – currently the region’s primary community housing provider with 37 houses – is building a $1 million six-unit development in Orchard St, Stoke, for low-income tenants.
However, its director and board members said any future projects have been ‘‘severely curtailed’’ by the Government’s ‘‘short-sighted’’ decision to pull the plug on capital grants for community housing providers.
Previously, the trust had used funding from Nelson City Council and the Rata Foundation, traditional mortgages and the government grants, which covered between 45 and 50 per cent of new builds, to finance development.
Social housing reforms in 2013 saw capital grants replaced by income-related rent subsidies, where the Government pays providers the difference between what their tenants pay and market rent.
Nelson Tasman Housing Trust director Carrie Mozena said that meant the charity received ‘‘20 per cent on top of our rents’’.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, June 23rd, 2016)
The use of biosolids for Rabbit Island was one of the issues raised at a public meeting to inform the community on proposed changes for the popular recreation area.
A draft Tasman District Council management plan for the island is out for public submissions.
Sport Tasman organised yesterday’s meeting at Saxton Field to help inform the sport and recreation sector about the proposals and encourage them to submit to the plan.
Tasman District Council adviser Anna Gerraty was asked many questions at the meeting about the use of biosolids on the island, restoring its coastal margins, access to forestry land and commercialism.
The existing use of biosolids was questioned, as well as the proposal of a possible future application of up to 53 hectares on Rough Island.
Organic matter recycled from sewage from the Bells Island treatment plant has been applied to the pine forest at Rabbit and Bells Islands since 1996, with repeat applications made about every three years.
Feedback on the draft plan can be submitted until July 8.
(The Nelson Mail, Friday, June 24th, 2016)
Community groups are delighted that a proposed TAB and pokie machine venue on the edge of Nelson city has been scrapped.
The Nelson City Council gave consent in February for a Vanguard St building, then occupied by United Video, to be demolished. In May the council gave permission for nine pokie machines and a TAB to be sited there.
The Racing Board withdrew its applications for the site on Monday. Communications manager Kate Gourdie would only say: ‘‘We have reviewed the site and it is not to proceed at this time’’.
She refused to give a reason for the sudden withdrawal and would not say whether public backlash, or potential conflicts with council regulations, played a role in the decision.
Tania Billingsley, a shareholder for Elbee Investments which owns the Vanguard St building, said the Racing Board had not formally notified the company it would not occupy the site, but had been told by the board it did not plan to establish any more TABs in Nelson.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, June 25th, 2016)
“It always seems impossible
until its done.”
Nelson Mandela