Business owners in Bridge St are unhappy with a suggestion that half a Nelson city block should be demolished to make way for fresh development.
Former city councillor and property developer Seddon Marshall last week proposed that the Collingwood end of Bridge St would be better off demolished and replaced by new buildings. Marshall called parts of the street ‘‘derelict’’ and a ‘‘waste of space’’.
Shark Club owner Steve Shepherd said he thought Marshall’s idea was ‘‘very simplistic...without looking at the ramifications about people’s livelihoods’’. ‘‘To say that it’s dingy, grungy and that it needs to be torn down is a very simple and easy for a property developer to say I would have thought without realising what’s happening around here.’’
Shepherd said he and his landlord had spent $400,000 to make his building safe and was aware of other businesses that had done the same. Shepherd was not opposed to residential development in Bridge St though it went too far to call that part of town demolition fodder.
Graham Heath, the owner of the building where Drifters was, said he originally purchased the site with the intention to create apartments and saw nothing wrong with the idea.
Heath said it was a hot topic of discussion as many people had recently talked to him about creating apartments in the top end of Bridge St.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, November 29th, 2016)
A house above the Waimea Plains and a house in Atawhai were finalists in the Registered Master Builders 2016 House of the Year.
In August the top 100 homes were named as National Gold Reserve Finalists and J Lewis Building Limited and Harris Builders were both named as finalists in the awards for homes they had built in Nelson.
Registered Master Builders Association chief executive David Kelly said the 100 homes were well deserving to be finalists with a lot of unique features and innovative design.
The winning house was a new five bedroom, four bathroom home in Campbells Bay in Auckland valued at more than $2 million. It featured five bedrooms, four bathrooms and three living spaces promising ‘‘unparalleled peace and comfort’’.
In total the house featured 700sqm of contemporary beachside living.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, November 29th, 2016)
Rents around Nelson and Tasman have increased by 4.3 per cent in the last year.
Trade Me Property Rental Index for October showed the rent in Nelson has increased from a $350 average every week to $362.50 from 2015-2016.
In Tasman the rent increased from $350 on average per week in October 2015 to $370 in 2016. Compared to the rest of the country Nelson and Tasman were around the middle of the pack with the highest increase in rent in Marlborough which had increased by 16.7 per cent in the past year.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, November 29th, 2016)
Following the recent Great Taste Award accolade, Pic’s has done it again.
The company received a Highly Commended from the Quality Food Award in the United Kingdom and was the only business to receive the accolade in its category.
Pic’s Peanut Butter owner Pic Picot said it was important to continue to grow in overseas markets. ‘‘We’re all pretty chuffed ... We want to be proud that people are eating our peanut butter. This award is a great acknowledgement for our hardworking Pic’s Peanut Butter team in New Zealand and the UK.’’
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, November 29th, 2016)
Discussions on a possible reopening of the Brook Valley Holiday Park have been delayed until the next Nelson City Council meeting, despite an acknowledged urgency to meet an anticipated influx of tourists and earthquake refugees.
The Brook Valley Holiday Park has been closed to casual campers since early 2014 and future direction for the holiday park had been waiting on the Brook Recreation Reserve Management Plan and a review of Council owned campgrounds.
A report brought before the council’s sports and recreation committee last week recommended a limited re-opening of the holiday park’s camp sites only and consideration of a reduced rate for freedom campers.
The report also urged any full opening of the Brook Valley Holiday Park on completion of the Brook Recreation Reserve comprehensive development plan.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, December 1st, 2016)
A group of Forest and Bird volunteers have ripped out more than 3000 wilding pine trees on Farewell Spit in an effort to restore the habitat to its original form.
Forest and Bird chair Julie McLintock said she rallied 19 volunteers and Department of Conservation ranger Simon Wells for a weekend of camping and weeding in Golden Bay.
Over the course of two days, the group pulled out 3300 seedlings and small wilding pines and weeds such as German ivy and periwinkle that are invading the dunes and wetlands around the historic lighthouse on the tip of Farewell Spit.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, December 1st, 2016)
Nelson has been the fastest growing region for tourist spend in the country for three months in a row, has just claimed the second spot on the ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard for economic growth and house prices in the city and in Tasman have continued to rise strongly.
Strong construction and retail performance has seen Nelson climb to second from fourth in the latest ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard. Tasman has climbed to sixth, up from 11th.
The scoreboard analyses latest quarterly regional statistics, including employment, construction, retail and house prices, to rank New Zealand’s 16 regional council areas.
ASB senior rural economist Nathan Penny said as well as a strong showing in horticulture, tourism and retail, construction was up in Nelson 49 per cent annually.
Quotable Value figures released this week said Nelson and Tasman prices had continued to see strong levels of activity and demand.
QV Nelson valuer Hayley Dabinette said Nelson house prices had grown by 15.4 per cent year on year and 3.3 per cent over the past three months.
The average home value in the city was now $489,338.
In Tasman the prices also rose 12.2 per cent over the past year and 5.1 per cent in the past three months. The average value in the district was now $487,011.
In other figures this week realestate.co.nz reported that the asking price for Nelson homes (which included the Tasman district) had increased by 17.4 per cent in November from October.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, December 3rd, 2016)
Work will start on Stoke’s community and sports facility at Greenmeadows next week.
Auckland-based company Watts and Hughes Construction won the tender for the Nelson City Council facility that will include a wide variety of meeting and community rooms.
The $6.4 million project has been controversial with strong support from Stoke sports and community groups but others have questioned the site and cost.
The council approved the new facility in 2015 after a two-year public consultation period and construction was planned to start in March 2016. In August the preferred tenderer increased its estimated cost by $350,000.
This came after an $540,000 cost increase in July last year.
Watts and Hughes Construction were announced as the successful tenderer this month, beating local firms.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, December 3rd, 2016)
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