The Government is giving a boost to first home buyers looking to get on the property ladder by allowing them to earn more and search for a home in a more realistic price range with the KiwiSaver scheme.
From today, income caps will increase from $80,000 to $85,000 for a single person and from $120,000 to $130,000 for a couple wanting to use the KiwiSaver HomeStart scheme, Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said.
The programme is about ‘‘helping first home buyers pull together a deposit with a grant of up to $10,000 for an existing house and $20,000 for a new home,’’ Smith said.
‘‘We are adjusting the income and house price caps to take into account increases in both since the scheme was announced so as to ensure it achieves its objective of helping middle income earners into a modest home.’’
House price caps will increase by an extra $50,000 from the existing $350,000, $450,000 and $550,000 depending on region and to $450,000, $550,000 and $650,000 for a new home.
The highest price caps apply only to Auckland, the median tier covers Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, Queenstown and Nelson-Tasman, and the bottom tier is the rest of the country.
(The Nelson Mail, Monday, August 1st, 2016)
New building project aims to meet growing demand of region’s industry
Three major building projects and a new tugboat are at the heart of a $32 million redevelopment at Port Nelson scheduled for completion in 2017.
Port Nelson chief executive Martin Byrne said the revamp had been on the company’s agenda for three years to meet the growing demands of the fishing, apple, wine, forestry and shipping industries.
“The wine volumes have risen dramatically, almost trebled, in the last three to four years, and the container volumes have continued to increase, so during those peak times we’re extremely strapped for space”, he said.
Demolition of buildings at the port has been carried out over the past few months to make way for the new developments.
Central to the revamp is a 13,000 square metre warehouse constructed on land based around the old log storage yard next to the Port Nelson offices on Low Street.
The warehouse will be used to store bottles for glass manufacturer Owen-Illinois as well as wine for export from the Nelson and Marlborough region.
Built by Christchurch-based company Calder Stewart, Byrne hoped that the warehouse would be in operation by the end of January. Joining the already demolished Rattray’s building, many of the remaining buildings on the West side of Low Street will be cleared to make way for operational space.
Plant and Food Research’s existing Maimai finfish facility on Akersten Street was also in the middle of an upgrade to a new 2300sqm facility, providing office and laboratory space for 38 research and support staff.
A new industrial workshop for servicing P{out Nelson mobile plant is also being built on Carkeek Street by local firm Coman’s Construction and is also scheduled for an early 2017 completion.
Three reefer towers have been added to the port’s refrigerated container operation, allowing power to be provided for stacks up to four high.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016)
A proposal to allow game bird hunting on part of Rabbit Island has attracted 34 submissions for and 60 submissions against the idea.
In its draft Moturoa/Rabbit Island Reserve Management Plan, the Tasman District Council highlighted for public consultation potentially closing the eastern half of Rabbit Island for one day each winter to enable an organised hunt of pheasants and/or Californian quail.
The draft plan says Fish and Game along with local game bird hunters are interested in trialling an organised hunt in forestry blocks on the eastern half of the island. A TDC hearing panel on Monday heard oral submissions in support of the proposal from Fish and Game, and a licensed hunter.
Fish and Game field officer Jacob Lucas said it was hoped hunting could be allowed for three weekends a year with Fish and Game managing the events.
Health and safety was a paramount concern, he said. At a similar event in Canterbury, hunters had to apply for a permit, there was signage and notification of events. The birds had to be in flight when targeted so firearms were discharged into the air. Hunters would be allowed to harvest just one bird a day.
The hearing panel heard from 32 submitters on Monday in relation to the draft plan. Chairman Brian Ensor then adjourned the meeting with the panel due to deliberate behind closed doors next Monday.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016)
Nelson is getting a revamped gateway to cater to passenger growth
The plans for the new $32 million Nelson Airport redevelopment can be revealed.
The new terminal building will be twice the size of the existing one with more seating, airline lounges, toilets and retail spaces, and the number of car parks will be tripled from 300 to 900.
The two-year project was approved by the airport’s shareholders, Nelson City and Tasman District councils, last week.
Nelson Airport chief executive Rob Evans said the new design would ‘‘reflect the beauty of the region’’.
The architects for the project are Studio Pacific Architecture which has produced innovative designs including Wellington Airport’s planned control tower, designed to lean into the prevailing northerly wind at an angle of 12.5 degrees, and the capital’s international terminal known as ‘‘The Rock’’.
A record 865,023 passengers used the airport in the year to June and that number was expected to crack one million next year, Evans said. The new infrastructure has been designed to cater for the forecast growth to 1.4 million passengers in 2035.
In 2014 the Nelson City Council deemed the existing terminal an earthquake prone building and gave the airport 10 years to strengthen it.
However, Evans said the terminal, built in 1974, also had asbestos and was “not fit for purpose”.
Nelson Airport Ltd had looked at renovating or extending it, but Evans said those options were not cost-effective and the current terminal would be demolished.
The cost of the redevelopment will be met entirely by Nelson Airport Ltd and external funding, meaning no ratepayer money will be sought.
There will also be no reduction in the annual dividend paid to shareholders.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016)
A shortage of property listings in Nelson-Tasman is giving rise to ‘‘opportunistic pricing’’ by vendors and ‘‘panic buying’’, an expert says.
The latest QV statistics, released on yesterday, show that Nelson house values have increased by 12 per cent since July last year and 3.1 per cent over the past three months.
The average value in the city is now $464,885.
The Tasman district also increased by 8.2 per cent over the past year and 2.5 per cent over the past three months.
The average value in the district is $457,542.
QV Nelson registered valuer Craig Russell said he was seeing sales of some properties that had been on the market for ‘‘lengthy periods of time’’.
‘‘We appear to entering a phase in the market where we are seeing some opportunist pricing by vendors and there may be an element of panic buying by some purchasers that may be caught out without doing the proper due diligence.’’
‘‘The lack of supply is exacerbated by strong demand for property with cheap borrowing and sales volumes up over the same period.’’
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016)
A multimillion-dollar apartment block tagged for Tahunanui has attracted more than 100 interested buyers even though developers have not submitted their final resource consents to Nelson City Council.
The development, which will house 39 apartments ranging from $470,000 to $1.4 million, falls under the Government’s Special Housing Area programme.
Developers of the 13 other SHAs around Nelson have until September 1 to submit their plans but already the five-storey Ocean Lodge apartment and retail complex planned for Tahunanui has had more than 100 serious queries.
The Ocean Lodge site will be developed by Wakatu Incorporation for an estimated 39 various sized apartments from studio, one and two bedroom apartments and penthouse options.
The development is set to demolish and rebuild the block wrapped by Beach Rd, Waikare and Muritai streets from scratch, which would inevitably mean the end for Tahunanui’s Ocean Lodge.
Wakatu Incorporation property general manager Iain Sheves said as a SHA development he suspected the initial construction start date of late 2016 would be ‘‘ambitious’’.
He said the team was focused on the resource consent submission for the residential aspect before attention was paid to the commercial elements of the block. The building is set back behind three retail shops, a gym, spa and pool on Beach Rd with views of the Tahunanui sports field and beach beyond.
Bayleys Real Estate Nelson owner/director Tony Vining said there would be no sales until price tags were firm but interested parties could expect apartments to start at about $470,000 and go up to $1.4 million for the penthouse styles.
There have been 115 people show interest in the development which is expected to hold 42 apartments, according to Vining.
Vining said the commercial developments for the space had also tracked interest but was not able to give further details.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, August 4th, 2016)
The gate looks set to be closed on the long-running issue of a partially constructed fence between two businesses at Mapua Wharf.
Tasman District councillors have agreed on the location of the controversial fence and work is under way to finalise its design.
The fence will run between the council’s new Shed 4 retail complex and a business due to be opened by Adele Calteaux, the owner of the now-closed Hamish’s ice-cream parlour. However, it will not stick out as far from the side of Shed 4 as first proposed.
Commercial manager Gene Cooper told councillors two additional gas bottles needed to be located in the alleyway between Shed 4 and the neighbouring property. In addition, New Zealand Fire Service best practice was to place rubbish bins two metres from buildings. Those services would be behind the proposed fence.
Tasman mayor Richard Kempthorne said the council had listened to the strong message from the community and hoped the outcome would allow tenants and users of the wharf precinct to enjoy the redeveloped area free of the tensions that had arisen over the original fence design.
(The Nelson Mail, Friday, August 5th, 2016)
Motueka High School’s new $1.2 million cultural centre will be a home for “many voices” over generations and enhance the learning of all the school’s students, the school says.
The centre was formally opened yesterday, starting with a pre-dawn blessing before a powerful mid-morning powhiri which began with the official visitors being welcomed by a spine-tingling Maori greeting.
The new cultural centre, Te Whare Taikura O Te Maatu, takes pride of place near the school’s Whakawera St entrance. Te Maatu was the original name for Motueka.
Designed in the style of a wharenui, with a peaked roof and wide front veranda, the centre will be a gathering place for the school’s youth, a place of welcome for visitors, a focus for developing kaupapa Maori within the school and a link to the school’s iwi partners.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, August 6th, 2016)
“I attribute my success to this -
I never gave or took any excuse.”.”
Florence Nightingale