Martin Townshend built his reputation as a one-man beer brewing operation in a shed at his Upper Moutere home.
But the award-winning brewer has outgrown his shed and is re-locating Townshend Brewery to a bigger, busier site in Motueka.
Construction of the new Townshend Brewery next to the popular Toad Hall Cafe in High St started this week.
Townshend said he hoped it would be ready to open in April.
He will be relocating the brewery from his shed to the new building, meaning the equipment and 1100-litre brewing capacity will stay the same.
However, the move will give Townshend access to Toad Hall’s 500,000-plus-a-year customer base, he said.
(The Nelson Mail, Monday, January 23rd, 2017)
Lynn Callister wasn’t surprised when she awoke after Saturday night’s storm to find a large portion of her rata tree had crushed the neighbours’ fence and clothesline.
‘‘My husband contacted Nelson City Council prior to Christmas regarding our concerns that a number of limbs on a protected rata tree were overhanging our neighbours’ property,’’ Callister said.
Their fears were realised when the tree split and a large section fell on the fence. Callister said while they enjoyed having the rata tree, they were disappointed something hadn’t been done to address their concerns.
The question of liability over heritage trees was tested before the Disputes Tribunal late last year, when a Nelson couple took the council to court after a Nelmacinspected tree fell caused more than $10,000 worth of damage to a classic car.
The Tribunal found the council and Nelmac were not liable, and had not been negligent in respect of tree inspections.
At the time, the council’s group manager infrastructure Alec Louverdis said the council had no legal obligation to inspect or maintain heritage trees, and any inspections were ‘‘goodwill in nature’’.
Nelson City Council spokesman Paul Shattock said ‘‘property owners are responsible for any trees on their property, and should discuss any damage with their insurance company. As this particular tree was listed as a protected tree, then council has kindly assisted with the clean-up.’’
Shattock said minor trimming of protected trees was permitted, but significant work required resource consent and must be carried out by a qualified arborist.
He said the resource consent application cost was $500, and there were provisions that allowed tree owners to take action when there was immediate threat to persons or property.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, January 24th, 2017)
The number of people in Nelson in need of state housing has more than doubled in the last year, reigniting a call for more affordable housing.
Ministry of Social Development figures to December 2016 for Nelson show 69 people are waiting for suitable housing.
Of those, 44 are ‘‘at risk’’ and require immediate action. The remaining 25 have a serious and persistent housing need. In the Tasman District, there are 43 people awaiting housing, up from 15 a year ago.
Housing NZ figures show of the 567 state houses across Nelson, 17 are vacant. There are 160 state houses in Tasman, and just one is vacant.
Housing NZ Area Manager Dale Bradley said it had recently matched two empty Wolfe St houses with prospective tenants. He said a Weka St state house left empty after a fire last year had been made safe, and the repair process was underway.
Nelson Tasman Housing Trust Director Carrie Mozena said they’d seen an increase in inquiries.
‘‘The total number of houses kept as long-term social or affordable rentals hasn’t increased at all since 1990, but the total population has increased by 25 per cent,’’ Mozena said.
She it was not enough to just build more houses, as the market itself did not deliver affordable housing.
Nelson MP and Minister for Building and Construction Nick Smith said there would always be a bias of new housing towards growing the overall supply, rather than focused on the most economic rentals. New housing couldn’t be considered in isolation, and growth in Nelson retirement villages, for example, would see homes freed up for first-home buyers.
He said building activity was up up 24 per cent across Nelson and Tasman and the most recent data showed 584 homes were given consent – a 10 year high.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, January 25th, 2017)
Nelson MP Nick Smith is calling for public support for a “Save our Cathedral” trust to raise up to $8 million to strengthen the earthquake-prone Christ Church Cathedral.
Smith said during a major earthquake it could suffer the same fate as Christchurch’s cathedral.
Smith said the building was not unsafe to occupy but it was at risk of significant damage and could not be insured.
He said the cathedral was Nelson’s most important building, “a landmark that helps define our heritage” and he wanted the community to get behind a campaign to strengthen it within the next five years.
The cost of strengthening the cathedral to 80 per cent of new building standard would be between $5 and $8 million, a fraction of what it would cost to replace the building, Smith said.
Built in 1929, the main body of the cathedral was deemed to be earthquake prone in October.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, January 26th, 2017)
To begin, begin.
William Wordsworth