MORE YARD MEANS MORE FUN

Tobias Tohill and his family love to use their backyard every day, as do many other Nelsonians, according to a new survey. Mitre 10’s New Zealand Home Improvement Report, which surveyed more than 1500 Kiwis, said 35 per cent of people in the Nelson region were likely to use their outdoor living spaces every day, well ahead of the national average of 12 per cent. He said that if he lived in a bigger city, he was likely to work more, leaving him less time to spend at home. However, the relaxed lifestyle in Nelson meant he had more time to enjoy his garden. Kiwis’ outdoor living spaces are shrinking, according to the Mitre 10 report, with 65 per cent of Nelson respondents saying their backyards were smaller compared to what they had when they grew up in the region.

(The Nelson Mail Wednesday, December 03, 2014) 

WATER RATIONING DESPITE RAIN

Water rationing will remain in Tasman district despite recent rain. That means the alternate day hose bans continue in urban areas and the 20 per cent cut for Waimea Plains allocated water takes. Tasman District Council’s Dry Weather Taskforce met this week to review the restrictions and decided to maintain the stage one rationing introduced last week. All water zones within the Waimea Plains, upper catchments, reservoir, Waimea West, Golden Hills, Delta, and Upper Confined Aquifer are subject to water rationing. 

(The Nelson Mail Thursday, December 04, 2014) 

COST CUTTING GIVES COUNCIL $7 MILLION BOOST

Nelson City Council’s staff job cuts have contributed to a $15.4 million surplus, nearly double what it budgeted. The council ended the year $7m ahead of what was budgeted in the Annual Plan 2013-14. Council chief executive Clare Hadley said surpluses largely came from income council received from vested assets, grants and development contributions. Most council revenue comes from rates and Hadley said the council sought to be prudent with ratepayers’ money. She said some of last year’s $15.4m surplus was used to keep the rates increase down this year and some would be used on projects that were delayed. 

(The Nelson Mail Thursday, December 04, 2014) 

FARMERS COULD EXPAND OVER BUXTON SQUARE CAR PARK

A proposed expansion of Nelson’s Farmers store could see it built over a large part of the Buxton Square public car park – but the council won’t say publicly what its stance is. The proposed building could extend as far as the square’s public toilets, but would be built above the car park. Gaire Thompson, who owns the Trafalgar St building leased by Farmers, has offered Farmers a larger shop on the current site, but no agreement has been reached.  One proposal was to go to three levels, which, he said, Farmers did not particularly want. Another was to go out over the car park so there would be a ground and first floor level. It would extend as far as the toilets but only three or four car parking spaces would be lost, he said. A number of legal issues, including air rights, were involved, he said. He is waiting to hear from the council following its discussions. 

(The Nelson Mail Friday, December 05, 2014) 
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MODELLERS' POND TO SOAK UP MORE CASH

After years of reports and thousands of dollars spent on the murky problem of Modellers’ Pond, the Nelson City Council is likely to pump more money into trying to come up with a solution. At a community services committee meeting councillors voted unanimously to recommend that the council spend $30,000 on another report into what to do with the pond. The algae-ridden pond at Tahunanui has been out of use for the most part of the last two decades, filled with an invasive weed and prolific green algae, and the council has repeatedly tried to find a way to keep it clean. The new report would assess the long-term viability of three options: continue as is with manual cleaning, get rid of the pond and make a recreational area or modify the pond to minimise ongoing maintenance costs. The pond costs the council $60,000 a year to clean, even though it is constantly full of algae and weeds. 

(The Nelson Mail Saturday, December 06, 2014) 

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. 

Burton Hillis