Golden Bay residents are concerned the country’s largest freshwater springs might be under threat from increased irrigation plans.
Te Waikoropupu Springs in Golden Bay is the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere and contains some of the clearest waters ever measured on earth.
Save Our Springs founder Steve Penny said he was concerned at the Tasman District Council’s (TDC) proposal to increase current water allocations in the Takaka catchment area by 70 per cent, largely for dairy farms.
The lack of water allocation rules across Takaka catchments has been one of the main issues facing a group of Golden Bay residents working to protect and manage its waterways.
The 11 members of the Takaka Freshwater Land Advisory Group (FLAG) have proposed a water allocation regime based on cultural, spiritual, environmental and supply needs and use.
Public submissions on the Takaka FLAG report close today.
The summary of the FLAG report is available on the Tasman District Council’s website.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, January 31st, 2017)
Experts remain deadlocked on what effect a proposed Countdown supermarket at the entrance to Richmond would have on the Stoke town centre.
Despite a hearing and conferences, retail experts for the supermarket proponent, Progressive Enterprises Ltd, cannot agree with the experts for Tasman District Council, Nelson City Council and Tinline Properties Ltd, the owner and operator of Richmond Mall.
TDC policy planner Jacqui Deans says that due to a lack of evidence, she is ‘‘unable to conclude that significant economic and social effects for Stoke centre in particular will not flow ... and therefore, I am still unable to make an overall recommendation’’ on a plan change request that would pave the way for the new Countdown.
Supermarket giant Progressive Enterprises wants the zoning of land changed on the corner of Salisbury and Champion roads so it can build a Countdown supermarket on the site.
Its private plan change request was notified by the TDC on March 12, 2016.
A hearing was held in October before independent commissioner Dave McMahon.
The commissioner adjourned the hearing and sought more information on a range of matters including the ‘‘flow-on potential economic impacts on Stoke and Richmond centres’’.
Since then, a lot of supplementary evidence has been submitted and an expert conference held but the lack of consensus remains.
In his latest commissioner minute, McMahon has invited Progressive to submit its reply.
‘‘From there, I will review the material and (most likely) issue a further minute to formally close the hearing,’’ McMahon says.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, February 1st, 2017)
Doomsday ‘‘conspiracy theorists’’ and expat Kiwis wanting to flee Donald Trump’s United States are adding to the strong demand for property in the Nelson region.
Property values in Nelson have increased 16.4 per cent to an average of $508,343 in the year to February, according to the latest QV figures. In the Tasman District, average values have increased 14.2 per cent to $498,111 in the same time period.
QV Nelson registered valuer Craig Russell said demand for property across the region continued to outstrip supply.
Tall Poppy Nelson salesman Owen Tasker said he has seen a huge increase in inquiries from Americans since Trump was elected president in November.
He said 42 per cent of people looking at the online listing for a three-bedroom house on a semirural property in Richmond were from the US, compared to 46 per cent from New Zealand.
Bayleys Nelson agent Bruce Farquhar said he had also seen a ‘‘200 per cent’’ rise in interest from US-based Kiwis looking for property.
Farquhar said he had observed similar trends after terrorist incidents, including the 9/11 attacks in the US and the 2005 London bombings.
Agents were seeing high numbers at open homes and multiple-offers were common, particularly for properties in the firsthome buyer or investor price range, he said.
All major banks lifted their mortgage interest rates last week to at least 5.4 per cent. Russell said higher rates would make it harder for first-home buyers to borrow money.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, February 2nd, 2017)
The Tasman district is set to have more access to faster internet than proponents of better broadband expected.
The Government last week announced the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) programme will be extended to 151 additional towns across New Zealand.
Of the $300 million being spent nationally on the second phase of the UFB roll out, $10.6m is earmarked to bring fibre access to new areas in the Tasman district: Kaiteriteri, Motueka, Murchison, Ruby Bay, Takaka, Wakefield and Brightwater.
Nelson Regional Development Agency digital co-ordinator Karen Lee worked in a community liaison role to help put together a registration of interest for UFB expansion. The priority areas were Brightwater, Wakefield and Golden Bay with Motueka at the top, she said.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, February 2nd, 2017)
The first of a likely wave of Tasman District Council decisions in 2017 on the proposed multimillion dollar Waimea dam are due to be made next month.
It is proposed TDC could form a joint venture with dam proponent Waimea Irrigators Ltd to drive the $82.5 million project in the Lee Valley, near Brightwater.
Council chief executive Lindsay McKenzie told councillors on Thursday that work on the project had ‘‘ramped up significantly’’ and the ground was being prepared for several key decision reports to go to a council meeting on March 2.
Those reports are set to cover:
- The proposed joint venture structure and commercial terms that need to be consulted on if a council controlled organisation (CCO) is to be formed
- The approach to consulting on that proposal and on the other matters
- The Heads of Agreement on the joint procuring of a contractor to build the dam and on completing the design
- The commencement of the tendering process
- The issue of notices of intention to acquire the private land at the dam site where a negotiated agreement has not been made.
In a status report on the project, McKenzie says workshops have been arranged for February 8 and 15 to brief councillors and get their guidance.
Workshops are held behind closed doors.
Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd, which acts on behalf of the Government as a bridging investor for regional water infrastructure development, is tipped to provide $25m as a loan to Waimea Irrigators for the project. The council has earmarked $25m for the proposal in its 2015-25 Long Term Plan.
In his report, McKenzie says Crown Irrigation requires a letter of commitment from the council ‘‘as a precursor to advancing funds’’ to Waimea Irrigators. ‘‘The contents of that letter will be discussed at the workshop on 8 February.’’
(The Nelson Mail, Friday, February 3rd, 2017)
Nelson’s Brook Waimarama Sanctuary is gearing up for its poison drop to wipe out pests this winter.
The 691-hectare nature reserve has just finished GPS mapping 2000 tunnel locations for a monitoring system after the drop of 24-tonnes of brodifacoum-laced bait. Volunteers will place the network of baited traps with an ink pad to record animal movements after the mid-year drop.
New sanctuary operations manager Nick Robson, a former warden at an English wildlife park, will help prepare for the drop that was opposed by some neighbours and conservationists. It was given consent in May last year after a public hearing.
Robson said the sanctuary had to be bio-secure before the drop could take place, including filling some gaps on the outside of the fence’s framework and making sure culverts were pest proof.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, February 4th, 2017)
"March on.
Do not tarry.
To go forward is to move toward perfection.
March on, and fear not the thorns,
or the sharp stones on life's path".
Khalil Gibran