A $30 million six-storey apartment complex overlooking Anzac and Rutherford parks is set to be Nelson’s ‘‘biggest and most expensive’’ block.
Construction of the Haven Rd Special Housing Area (SHA), Saltwater Creek is set to start in April.
Saltwater Creek apartments developer Bernard Downey revealed designs at a recent private function that showed off a glass-panelled, modern condo with four glass lifts in its facade.
The complex will house 32 apartments that range from $1.95 million to single bedroom units priced at $395,000.
Bayleys Real Estate said it expected the $30 million apartment complex to be Nelson’s ‘‘biggest and most expensive’’ block.
The block was one of 18 SHA complexes that was recently approved by Housing Minister Nick Smith and the Nelson City Council.
Donald Design architect Robert Donald, who designed The Sands at Tahunanui, has designed Saltwater Creek. He has buildings in Auckland and Wellington, but it was his Mission Bay design that captured Downey’s eye.
Downey said construction would only begin in April if 70 per cent of apartments were pre-sold before that deadline.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, November 8th, 2016)
A lifelong holiday bach on conservation land in the Abel Tasman National Park will be removed after the recent death of its owner.
Rollo Wilkinson’s bach in Bark Bay was subject to a lifetime occupation license, meaning that when he died the bach had to be removed.
Wilkinson left the bach to two couples; Darryl and Edna McLean of Motueka and Bruce and Joan Fraser of Riwaka.
Edna McLean said her family had been going down to the bach for the past 30 years.
She said Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle had offered to move the bach to Marahau, so that it wouldn’t be lost forever.
Wilkinson, who died in April, would have been thrilled to know it would continue to be used, she said.
Wilkinson’s bach is one of four private baches in Abel Tasman National Park. They are on land that was included into the national park later on.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, November 9th, 2016)
Nelson Airport has started its $32 million two-year redevelopment with the building of a new control tower.
The airport redevelopment includes 250 new public and staff car parks which have already been completed, a new terminal building, new management offices and the new tower.
Work on the tower, which will be located at the east end of the airport, will be completed by Gibbons Construction. Piling work is expected to start in the next month.
Airways NZ own and manage the control tower and said it would continue to support airport growth with continued safe and efficient air traffic services.
Airways had invested $7.5 million dollars into the building.
Construction on the main airport terminal is expected to start in April next year and was estimated to take 18 months.
(The Nelson Mail, Wednesday, November 9th, 2016)
A deal between the Government and the Maori Party to move ahead with stalled Resource Management Act (RMA) reform has been panned by opposition parties, who say the ‘‘disgraceful decision’’ will harm environmental protections.
Environment Minister Nick Smith has announced the Maori Party will support the controversial Resource Legislation Amendment Bill, intended to speed up planning and consent laws.
Smith said an agreement had been reached around the details of ‘‘iwi participation agreements’’ - giving Maori greater involvement with local councils in the consenting process - along with other changes to get the numbers needed to pass the legislation.
Smith denied the bill had been overly watered down, saying it was still ‘‘a massive step forward’’ in terms of RMA reform.
He said it was not fair to blame the Maori Party for the long delays in moving ahead with reform, saying they were in part due to ‘‘solving very complex issues between multiple government agencies’’.
While councils were already legally required to consult with Maori, Smith said the iwi participation agreement would set up a formal process to ease frustrations about the way the law currently worked.
The Government would pass a motion to refer the bill back to the select committee on Thursday, where the changes would need to be considered.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, November 10th, 2016)
If the proposed Waimea dam is not built, the cost to the NelsonTasman region of tougher water restrictions could be about $700 million over 25 years, according to a new report.
Released yesterday, the report by Northington Partners estimates the total economic impact on water users in the Waimea River catchment area alone at $231m.
Northington Partners, an investment and corporate advisory business, was commissioned by dam proponent Waimea Irrigators Ltd to produce the report. The business used information from sources and previous reports dating back over many years.
Waimea Irrigators Ltd strategic adviser John Palmer said water security and sustainability was the ‘‘single most important economic development issue’’ in the region and ‘‘this report puts a number on that’’.
Tasman mayor Richard Kempthorne and his Nelson counterpart, Rachel Reese, welcomed the release of the report. Kempthorne said he wasn’t surprised by the numbers.
Nelson MP Nick Smith called it a ‘‘wake-up call’’ on the region’s water management challenges.
Palmer said an over allocation of water on the Waimea Plains along with higher environmental standards for the river meant that without augmentation, ’’everybody will be restricted’’.
‘‘This is not make believe, it’s not scaremongering,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s fact. Doing nothing is not an option.’’ The report’s message was clear. ‘‘The Waimea dam is a community-focused solution to water storage and it’s been 12 years in the making,’’ Palmer said. ‘‘We have enough research – if this report shows us anything, it’s that it’s time to get on and do something.’’
By the numbers
The report breaks down the estimated potential economic costs of a no-dam scenario into the following sectors
Existing water users: $23m
- Opportunity cost of being unable to supply potential new users: $387m
- Alternative supply for Tasman District Council urban supply: $33m
- Alternative future supply for NCC: $21m
- Opportunity cot of environmental improvement: $28.6
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, November 12th, 2016)
I just believe in the goodwill of people,
the power of people to do something positive.
Eddie Izzard