SANDWALLS ENLISTED TO BATTLE EROSION

Pakawau residents gathered on their beach to watch push-up sandwalls being shovelled into place by a digger, after months of campaigning for action to be taken to protect their increasingly eroded coastal properties.  Tasman District Council spokesman Chris Choat said the council was aiming to get the work completed by Christmas, as promised.  Homeowner Laurie Jarrett and other residents have been asking the council to fortify beach front properties with a rock wall along the coast since Cyclone Ita eroded six more metres of council reserve at Easter, but the council opted for a softer push-up wall first.  The method will use sand that has naturally built up on the beach, since Cyclone Ita in April, to form the dune buffer, said Choat.  Both Para Para and Pakawau beaches have benefited from substantial sand buildup since the storm events providing a good base from which the push-ups can occur. Choat said the solution had been arrived at after consultation with property owners and residents, iwi, and coastal engineers.  ‘‘Locals and visitors to the beaches will be able to enjoy both beaches over the Christmas period,’’ said Choat.

(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, December 23, 2014)

BOOST TO INSULATE NELSON HOMES

Nelson families with underinsulated homes struggling to afford home heating have been given a helping hand with an $80,000 boost to a home insulation scheme.  The money will go into the Warm Up New Zealand Healthy Homes scheme, which aims to provide low-income families, particularly those with high health risks, warmer, more insulated homes.  Nelson city councillors voted to add $40,000 to the scheme at the latest full council meeting, which will be matched by $40,000 from the Canterbury Community Trust.  The national scheme run by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is available to those who meet certain criteria, which include holding a Community Services Card and having children under the age of 17, being over 65 years old, or having someone with high health needs living in the home.  EECA funds the scheme on a 60:40 basis with other organisations.  This year the Canterbury Community Trust put $110,000 towards the scheme and EECA partnered it with $165,000. This made $275,000 available for Nelson and Tasman households, enough money to insulate about 100 homes.  NCC staff were unsure whether EECA would match the additional $80,000. The average cost for insulating a house is $2900 plus GST, which means the money would cover the insulation of around 28 Nelson homes.  Of Nelson’s 14,900 homes built before 2000, only 3864 have been upgraded with council and central government assistance. These upgrades were through the NCC and central government funded Clean Heat: Warm Homes scheme and EECA’s Warm Up New Zealand: Heart Smart scheme. Both of which have now ended.  Nelson city councillors voted to put $100,000 towards home heating initiatives and other non-regulatory clean air programmes for the 2015/16 financial year, part of which will go to the healthy homes project.

(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, December 24, 2014)

NEW ERA FOR SUTER GALLERY KICK-STARTED

It is the end of one chapter and the start of another for Nelson’s historic Suter Art Gallery, Scott Construction have signed the official construction contract with the Nelson City Council to begin the project in the new year.  The $12 million redevelopment will commence on site from January 12 and is expected to take around 18 months to complete.  The gallery, cafe included, will temporarily move to new premises in Halifax St in the former Mountain Design building while construction takes place. The council will put $6m into the rebuild, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage provided around $2.5m and Lotteries Grants Board provided around $1.5m. The remaining funds needed were provided through private donations. Project architect Marc Barron said he had not seen any opposition from people who donated because the community had ‘‘embraced’’ the project.

(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, December 24, 2014)

FEW FIRST-HOME BUYERS AMONG HIGH LVR LOANS

RESTRICTIONS, PRICES PAINT GRIM PICTURE

New mortgage lending figures add to an increasingly grim picture for first-home buyers, an economist says.  More than $5.1 billion was lent out in new mortgages in November, of which 9 per cent $441 million) was at a loan-to-value ratio of more than 80 per cent.  But only a third ($146m) of the high LVR loans went to first home buyers, with the majority ($247m) going to existing owner-occupiers.  Investors accounted for the smallest share of high-LVR loans with $46m, just over 10 per cent of this segment of the mortgage market.  Shamubeel Eaqub, principal economist of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, said it was hard to compare the situation to before the LVR limits were introduced because that level of data was not available at the time.  However, he said it was not surprising that most of the high loan-to-value lending was going to existing homeowners rather than first-home buyers.  Eaqub said the LVR restrictions had made it tough for first-home buyers, who already have to contend with soaring house prices in several parts of the country and Auckland in particular.  Property Investors' Federation executive officer Andrew King said the LVR restrictions were not all bad news for those looking to buy their first home.  "It means there's an incentive - a necessity - to save a deposit and it means they don't have to borrow as much, so it's easier to repay and they get themselves out of debt faster."  Having to have at least 20 per cent equity also gave homebuyers extra protection in the event of a property market downturn, reducing their risk of falling into negative equity, King said. 

(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, December 24, 2014)

LATTICE POSSIBLE FIX FOR CENTRE

A steel lattice, comparable to Forsyth Barr stadium in Dunedin, is a potential remedy to the Trafalgar Centre’s woes, Nelson city councillors have heard.  Councillors were presented with the first draft of concept plans for strengthening the earthquake prone building at the latest council meeting, where the potential structure drew murmurs of surprise.  Council acting projects manager Richard Kirby said an earthquake that caused the thick timber beams that run across the ceiling to move just 100mm could cause one or more of them to collapse but there was uncertainty around that.  The 3m high steel structure to cover the roof of the main building is one of three scenarios being investigated.  The other two are ground remediation with minor structural work and adding underground piles. Kirby requested another 6-8 weeks to work on the drafts and get cost estimates before providing final concepts to councillors early next year.  Mayor Rachel Reese agreed and said it would be financially prudent and time-efficient for staff to further investigate the options to get the most out of the money allocated.  Kirby said ground remediation would be one of the most expensive approaches and would not ensure the highest NBS rating.  The final scenario was more underground piles; installing screw piles at each portal and diagonal tension piles, to 22m deep.  Kirby said this would be the least visually intrusive option and gain a 67 per cent NBS rating.  Besides the main stadium, the building’s northern extension faces a considerable upgrade. One option is to knock it down and completely rebuild.  Council staff will present more detailed options for the northern extension when they come back with the finalised concepts. Councillors signalled they would like the building’s main entrance to be on to Rutherford Park.  The council has set aside $10 million for the work which Kirby said is estimated to cost $7m-$9m.  The Trafalgar Centre is just one of Nelson’s major venues expected to make a comeback in 2016. The Suter Gallery and Nelson School of Music are both due to reopen, and the Nelson Winter Festival and Light Nelson events are set to make a return.

(The Nelson Mail, Monday, December 29, 2014)

RENTALS TO BE MORE IN DEMAND

In just 12 years, a much larger proportion of home owners will be superannuitants and renters will rise by a third, many of them elderly.  Research commissioned by the Building Research Association suggests that rental households between 2013 to 2026 will soar, as a growing number of people who did not climb on the property ladder in their 20s and 30s head into middle age without a home.  Some of them would still not have a home in another decade, with a 75.9 per cent rise in renters over the age of 65. Younger renters – those under 40 years – are expected to grow by 19.3 per cent.  Homeowners will also age. Young owner-occupiers will decline by 6 per cent and middle aged ones will drop by 8.6 per cent, but elderly home owners will rise by 43 per cent.  Growing population will also play a part. Between 2013 and 2021 household numbers are tipped to grow by 170,000. This would mean there will be 57,000 more owner-occupiers and 113,00 more renters.  Changes in the labour market meant people were more mobile, with less job security and a widening gap in incomes.  Increasingly available credit and lower interest rates had also drawn many younger households into high debt, impeding their ability to save for a house.

(The Nelson Mail, Monday, December 29, 2014)

HARD WORK TO CLEAN UP MOTUPIPI RIVER PAYS OFF

Local farmers, Motupipi School, Fonterra and the Tasman District Council are seeing their hard work begin to pay off with the Motupipi River at Reillys Bridge being voted Tasman’s most improved river.  Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne attended the 2014 New Zealand River Awards, and said: ‘‘Positive partnerships like this can achieve great results, and it’s a real pat on the back for the community.’’  Motupipi dairy farmers Tony and Kathy Reilly have planted around 2000 trees along the Motupipi River on their land. The 2014 New Zealand River Awards are run by the Morgan Foundation. They were based on sites were where quality data was available over the past 10 years, with the Motupipi River showing a 6.3 per cent improvement each year over that time.

(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, January 1, 2015)