A new mayoral vision for Nelson has seen Mayor Rachel Reese question whether Burger King is in the right place.
‘‘I think we can do better than a carpark,’’ Reese said. ‘‘All due respect to Burger King. I’m sure they would be very happy if we found a suitable site that’s not right on the gateway into our city.’’
Reese’s idea to find a new location for the fast food outlet is part of her long-term vision for a new Riverside Precinct for the area near Nelson’s public library.
Her vision follows the strong public backlash when she mooted moving the library from its riverside space earlier this year.
She said the riverside development was an opportunity to change the city’s ‘‘gateway’’ with the library redevelopment as part of it.
Landowners in the area were keen for a plan that respects the river and the entrance to the city, she said.
The area was a stepping stone to creating a new Riverside Precinct that linked the city with the Maitai River, Trafalgar Centre, Rutherford Park and beyond that the Haven Precinct.
One of the significant land owners in the area is Wakatu Incorporation. Reese said Wakatu were keen to work with the council to develop a vision for the precinct as long term investors in the area.
Sheves said Wakatu was currently focused on the September 1 deadline to submit its resource consent for the Paru Paru Rd Special Housing Area (SHA). ‘‘We’ve applied for a SHA to develop a four-storey building with three storeys of residential accommodation above a ground floor with some retail elements in it. That’s our number one project at the moment,’’ Sheves said.
Burger King Nelson were not able to comment on the possibility of a future move, and the national office has not yet responded.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, June 29th, 2016)
Nelson City Council will consider an additional seven Special Housing Area applications tomorrow as developers rush to get their plans considered in time.
Seven developers will apply for sites and reveal their proposed builds, which if accepted, have to be gazzetted by the Government in July.
Councillors will consider SHAs for Tahunanui’s 19 and 21 Beach Rd, 371 Wakefield Quay, 81-83 Haven Rd, 42 Domett St, 1 and 5 Tahunanui Dve, 35 Farleigh St and two different options for Saxton.
Along with the additional SHA applications, councillors will also consider an amendment to Barcelona Lofts at 237 Haven Rd which is already approved for four storeys, and is looking council support for five.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, June 29th, 2016)
Residents on a gravel Golden Bay road face a ‘‘treacherous’’ drive home due to a long running dispute over who is responsible for its maintenance.
A recent slip on the Anatoki Track Rd is restricting access to a handful of homes and forcing residents to drive through a creek and over paddocks to get home.
Residents want clarity over who pays to repair the road after battling the Tasman District Council for years.
Anatoki Track Rd resident David Dwyer said the issue came to a head last week when part of the road slipped into a culvert after heavy rain.
Dwyer’s enquiries have uncovered a long history of issues over the road’s maintenance and conflicting stories about who was responsible.
Tasman District Council spokesman Chris Choat said Anatoki Track Rd, which was on road reserve, was one of many in the district that served a private purpose not dissimilar to a track.
It was originally formed as part of local farming operations, to give access to a handful of properties.
From the bridge up, maintenance was the responsibility of the landowners, he said.
If public safety was compromised, the council had the authority to close the road which could be done in an emergency or for more permanent safety issues.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, June 29th, 2016)
Details of an almost $500,000 overspend on the Mapua Wharf development have added weight to questions about the Tasman District Council’s role in commercial activities.
However, mayor Richard Kempthorne, who is standing again, said the council’s commercial developments ‘‘benefit everyone’’, providing a return on investment for ratepayers.
‘‘Forestry makes a big contribution to subsidising rates,’’ the mayor said. ‘‘And [the commercial returns mean] we can do things we otherwise couldn’t do.’’
To manage its commercial activities, the council established a commercial subcommittee three years ago. An improved council bottom line is an aim of the subcommittee – and it appears to be achieving that goal.
Newly released information shows the council’s commercial asset income has risen each year of the subcommittee’s operation. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation show a rise in total commercial asset income from $1.412 million in 2013 to $3.376m in 2016. Revenue has jumped from $3.263m in 2013 to $6.248m in 2016.
Higher returns were the expectation when subcommittee was formed.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, June 29th, 2016)
A dawn ceremony marks the return of a Nelson school to local iwi.
The excitable babble of children is hushed. The pupils of Appleby School line up from smallest to tallest in the outdoor amphitheatre.
The sun is rising on a significant day for the Ngati Kuia iwi and the school community with a ceremony marking the official return of the school land to the tribe as part of a treaty settlement.
In 2015, a Treaty of Waitangi settlement recognised the land Appleby School is on as culturally significant to the Ngati Kuia tribe.
The land the school stands on, originally a garden for travelling Maori, has been returned to the iwi.
The Waimea area, historically known as Waimea, was a food resource for Maori in the “great migration”, in the 13th and 14th century.
School principal Graham Avery said the ceremony was to “finalise the relationship” with Ngati Kuia as their iwi.
Ngati Kuia’s Wilson said he was looking forward to to future relations with the school.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, June 30th, 2016)
A Brightwater landowner is taking the Tasman District Council to the Environment Court after an independent commissioner rejected his request for a gravel extraction consent.
Landowner Aaron Baigent’s initial three-year consent to excavate water storage ponds, which ended in June 2014, was extended to 20-years by the council in 2014 through a non-notified process.
However, when he attemtped to vary the consent to quarrying last year, the council rejected his application on the grounds it did not include an assessment of environmental effects. The request also failed to consider the impact on neighbouring properties in the Brightwater area.
An objection was then made to the council’s decision and a hearing held before an independent commissioner.
Tasman District Council environment and planning manager Dennis Bush-King said the commissioner also decided not to approve the request for 20-year extension.
(The Nelson Mail, Friday, July 1st, 2016)
Deadline ‘squeezes’ council special housing debate
Five extra Special Housing Areas have been approved for Nelson after a mammoth extraordinary meeting yesterday.
Unease over last minute Special Housing Area (SHA) decisions led to a near nine-hour, extraordinary Nelson City Council meeting in order to meet a deadline set by legislation.
Deliberations over the eight new and one amended SHA applications created waves within the public gallery – noted as being the largest in some councillors’ careers. Council set a June 30 deadline to meet the final legislative deadline of September 16.
The SHAs were designed by government to increase housing supply and allowed developers to prepare their land and build houses at a faster rate.
In 2015, NCC set the target of consenting 720 new dwellings over the next three years.
The five SHAs were approved by councillors about 7pm. Developers will now have until September 1 to apply for resource consents before they appear before the Housing Minister Nick Smith to be granted SHA status.
Council approved SHAs
371 Wakefield Quay: – Proposal for 12 residential apartments with a maximum height of 12m and a maximum of three storeys.
81-83 Haven Rd: – About 30 residential apartments with a maximum height of 20m and a maximum of six storeys. – The site is located in the city fringe zone.
69 Newman Drive: – Four to six one bedroom units with off-street parking, plus a private and also shared communal garden area and a north facing aspect. – Will need to lift covenant to be successful as a SHA.
Farleigh St: – 20 lot subdivision. – The creation of a SHA on this site is not consistent with the Nelson Housing Accord. The site is zoned rural and the applicants have not provided evidence that it is able to support a residential development. – Site can be developed to increase housing supply by 19 allotments with a mixture of residential and lifestyle blocks.
Saxton: – 289 residential units with a maximum height of 14m and a maximum of three storeys for a retirement village. – The site is zoned rural and the applicants have not provided any evidence that it is able to support a residential development.
(The Nelson Mail, Friday, July 1st, 2016)
Divisions have been made within Nelson City Council over a 426 hectare block in Dodson Valley, Atawhai allocated for a Special Housing Area.
Hybrid Homes director Jamie Harrington said he was ‘‘thrilled’’ Nelson City councillors chose to pass a proposal for a 20 lot subdivision, by a margin of eight votes to two, despite it not being met by the Nelson Housing Accord and therefore not recommended by council’s planning staff.
Cr Gaile Noonan said she felt she may be a lone voice and had received 17 emails from people opposed to the SHA.
Concerns were raised at Thursday’s extraordinary meeting that the Farleigh St proposal would not meet the required standard a Special Housing Area (SHA) required to be gazetted.
The report presented to councillors did not recommend the site based on its rural zone and the developer’s inability to show evidence sufficient infrastructure (stormwater, wastewater, water and transport), could support the proposed yield and had the potential to place cost implications.
The report stated council had not catered for development of the proposed density connecting to the infrastructure network and it was unknown whether sufficient infrastructure was available to support the development.
Farleigh St was passed by a margin of eight votes to two by councillors.
A second site off North St, Saxton was also approved, which will become a new Summerset Retirement Village if it meets similar requirements.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, July 2nd, 2016)
The Haven Precinct on Nelson’s waterfront should be at the top of council’s agenda, says mayoral hopeful Pete Rainey.
This week current Mayor Rachel Reese outlined her plans for a Riverside Precinct around the Elma Turner Library as part of her vision for the future.
The idea suggested relocating Burger King from its prime gateway site as part of the development.
Council has allocated $205,000 toward concept designs for the library in the next financial year.
However, Rainey said council had made the commitment to the Haven Precinct link between the city and sea but a ‘‘knee-jerk’’ suggestion to shift the library, in the annual plan, derailed discussion over the area’s potential plans.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, July 2nd, 2016)
Tasman District Council will reconsider its plans for a controversial fence between two businesses at Mapua Wharf.
The 1.7m-high partially constructed fence runs between the council’s new Shed 4 retail complex and a business due to be opened by Adele Calteaux, the owner of Hamish’s ice-cream parlour, which closed in 2015. Calteaux has taken the council to court over terms of a previous lease exit.
Some members of the community have called the fence divisive. It has also been described as ‘‘petty’’ and ‘‘spiteful’’ and was the focus of a protest.
In a report for the council meeting on Thursday, staff acknowledge the fence provides ‘‘some screening’’ between the council’s tenants and neighbouring tenants but say that was ‘‘not the key focus for the council’’.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, July 2nd, 2016)
A Nelson house has won an architectural design award for its simple form and “well understood detailing”.
The 2016 Nelson / Marlborough ADNZ Resene Architectural Design regional Award winners were announced last night.
The project named Hillside House won the Residential New Home between 150m2 and 300 m2 Architectural Design award.
The house designed by Tony Karsten of Karsten Architectural Design was celebrated for the small space it was built on.
Judges’ comments said the “uncomplicated detailing of well understood materials facilitates the realisation of a clear formal ambition”.
The house is built on a steep, thin site that is only 19 metres wide. It has views to Tasman Bay and over Nelson city.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, July 2nd, 2016
“You can’t depend on your eyes
when your imagination is out of focus.”
Mark Twain