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Duke & Cooke Property News |
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Published on: 15th November 2008 PLAN BANS NEW HOMES IN TAKAKA PLAN BANS NEW HOMES IN TAKAKANo new homes should be built in the Takaka township due to possible flood risk, says a just-released Tasman District Council Golden Bay planning document. The council’s decision on Variation 57, relating to the Takaka-eastern Golden Bay settlement policy, was made following a hearing earlier this year. However, the decision was publicly released only last week, to coincide with the Tasman Resource Management Plan becoming operative from November 1. The document, which provides a framework for all settlement planning in the Takaka-eastern Golden Bay area, advocates a new village in the central Takaka/Park Avenue area. Pohara to Tata Beach and Rangihaeata are also areas outlined for further development. Variation 57 seeks to protect rural and coastal landscape values and land that has high-quality soils, as well as avoiding flood risk. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 10 November 2008) PROPERTY VALUES STILL DECLININGNelson and Tasman property values have dropped again, but the region’s property prices have not recorded as big a drop as those in other centres. The latest Quotable Value figures, out today, show that Nelson city house values dropped 4.9 per cent over the three months to October, while Tasman district property values dropped 2.8 per cent over the same period. The average October sale price in Nelson was $335,398, and $247,780 in Tasman. The national average was $379,290. (The Nelson Mail, Monday 10 November 2008) HOUSING TRUST RUNNER-UPThe Nelson Tasman Housing Trust has been named joint runner-up for a national award at the Community Housing Aotearoa Conference in Wellington. The trust and the Monte Cecelia Housing Trust were beaten to the best-practice award for forward planning by the West Auckland Friendship Centre Trust. The award was presented at a function in Wellington last night. (The Nelson Mail, Tuesday 11 November 2008) CANDY STRIPES COMPLETE BY FRIDAYThe last sheet of steel for Nelson’s most prominent technicoloured roof will be in position by Friday. Contour Roofing & Windows’ colourful new premises might drive passing motorists to distraction, but at least people knew where the company was, said managing director Dave Freeman. The 4500sq m building is at the Airport Estate and visible from Whakatu Drive. Mr Freeman said the company had outgrown its current Annesbrook premises for manufacturing roofing and aluminium joinery. The company had employed an architect because it wanted something other than an ugly box, he said. The new building was twice the size of the company’s current building and should be open by Christmas, he said. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 12 November 2008) MAJOR OIL HUNT STARTS IN TASMAN BAYSeismic survey to take nine days A major Australian exploration company was expected to start its search for oil in Tasman Bay today. Australian Worldwide Exploration New Zealand country manager Dennis Washer said it would be undertaking a marine seismic survey off the west coast of D’Urville Island, northeast of Nelson. The survey would provide the company with a more detailed understanding of the geology of the seabed, he said. Australian Worldwide Exploration is the major equity holder and operator of Taranaki’s Tui oil field. Mr Washer said it was the first time AWE had prospected in the area. However, a previous survey of the area by a different company had indicated the site was worthy of further investigation. During this survey, the 65m MV Pacific Titan would travel along pre-determined lines towing a 4km long line known as a streamer, which contained the geophones that collected the data. (The Nelson Mail, Wednesday 12 November 2008) PLANS FOR GREEN GABLES VILLAGE SHELVEDTroubled economic times are behind a decision to shelve plans for a multimillion-dollar expansion of Green Gables village in Nelson. Qualcare Holdings has delayed its resource consent application with the Nelson City Council until further notice, weeks before a two-day hearing was scheduled. The decision was purely an economic one, said Geoff Hipkins, who heads the company that owns Green Gables. Qualcare wanted to expand the city’s oldest resthome in Bridge St to 73 residential apartments and 50 “care facility” beds from its current 30 resthome beds and 21 hospital beds. The tougher financial climate has also slowed development of the Gracefield Living resort under construction in Stoke, which has been created through a collaboration of Nelson investors and LifeCare Solutions Ltd. LifeCare Solutions director John Ward said development of the $85 million resort had slowed to match a slump in demand, as people who had expressed interest in moving into the village were having difficulty selling their homes. Centre manager Bruce Fleming said 10 homes in the planned 227-home Gracefield development were now completed, or close to completion, and two were occupied. The Ernest Rutherford Retirement Village, developed in Stoke by Ryman Healthcare, was still experiencing healthy sales, chief executive Simon Challies said. It had sold 55 townhouses, with another 15 to 20 nearing completion and about to be released for sale. Of the 39 serviced apartments built, eight remained for sale, and 40 people now occupied the complex’s hospital. Plans to expand the hospital and new dementia care unit remained on track for opening in early January, Mr Challies said. Development of the $18 million, 69-unit Brown Acre lifestyle village in Motueka had not moved as quickly as expected, mainly due to the lack of resolution on planning issues, Wellington developer John Welch said. He said the economic downturn had not stopped plans to proceed. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 13 November 2008) SUN’S RAYS TO POWER LIGHTHOUSEThere hasn’t been a lighthouse keeper at the Nelson lighthouse for more than 90 years, but if there was, you’d have to wonder what they’d think of this. Shunning traditional methods of power generation, Port Nelson is planning to install six solar panels next to the lighthouse to power the 250-watt mercury bulb and additional floodlights that will illuminate it. The Nelson lighthouse became operational in 1862 and the last lighthouse keeper left the Boulder Bank in 1915. The light was extinguished in 1982, but now the port company has decided to turn it back on and shine it on the city. Port Nelson workshop manager Craig Terris said they were keen to choose an environmentally friendly way of powering the light. (The Nelson Mail, Thursday 13 November 2008) LEISURE PARK PLAN FOR MAPUA TOXIC SITEA waterfront amphitheatre, a promenade area and a heritage orchard are some of the ideas included in the design for a $1 million waterfront park to transform Mapua’s former toxic site. Mapua-based landscape architect and urban design expert Robin Simpson is leading the project and is working with Nelson landscape architect Heidi Stewart on the concept plan. The park will be on land previously dubbed the most toxic site in New Zealand, after it was contaminated by a cocktail of agricultural chemicals produced by a factory there. A controversial $12 million cleanup of the area led by the Environment Ministry finished last year. Ms Simpson said the park’s design incorporated some of the site’s complex history and stories. Public submissions on the design close on December 5. For more information, visit www.tdc.govt.nz. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 14 November 2008) PUSH FOR AMALGAMATIONA merger of the Nelson and Tasman councils is back on the agenda, but Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne has again expressed reservations. Nelson MP Nick Smith, who will almost certainly be the next minister for the environment, this week listed the formation of a single district council among his priorities for Nelson and Tasman. Meanwhile, Cr Mike Cotton told a Nelson City Council meeting yesterday that it should start planning for a merger now that it was on the incoming government’s agenda. His comment was endorsed by Nelson Mayor Kerry Marshall, who said the outcome of a Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland governance would be the catalyst for what happened with councils throughout the country. Mr Kempthorne remains steadfastly opposed to the idea of one district, chiefly because he does not think it would result in effective representation. He conceded that there was some support in Richmond for amalgamation, but little desire from the wider Tasman district. “There are two distinctive communities in Tasman – the urban base in Richmond, which blends into Stoke and Nelson, and an increasingly diverse rural network. There will be some feeling in Richmond for amalgamation, but the (local authority) election last year showed there was not much appetite for it,” Mr Kempthorne said. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 14 November 2008) HOUSE PRICES DIVE IN TOP OF SOUTHHouse prices in Nelson-Marlborough have suffered the second-largest fall in New Zealand during October, according to the Real Estate Institute’s latest statistics. However, the institute says its national sales figures for October show things are rosier than some financial commentators had predicted, with property values falling just 4.28 per cent overall. Nelson-Marlborough’s median house value increased from $320,000 in September to $325,000 last month. But that’s still 6.34 per cent down on October last year when the median was $347,000 – the highest ever for that month. The number of houses being sold in Nelson-Marlborough is also in sharp decline, falling from 297 in October 2007 to 219 in September and 158 in October. The median number of days it takes to sell a property has improved slightly, from 64 in September to 53 last month. However that’s still a lot slower than previous years. It went as low as 21 days in October 2003. (The Nelson Mail, Friday 14 November 2008) ACTION ON FOUL WATER FAR AWAYNo moves to solve bacteria problem Eighteen months after Tasman village residents were told there was faecal bacteria in their drinking water, nothing has been done to fix the problem. The Tasman District Council, which called for urgent action on the problem in May last year, has confirmed that any solution remains years away. In a report to the council at the time, it was revealed that faecal bacteria, possibly human, had been found in the drinking water of half of Tasman’s 68 houses. Council engineering manager Peter Thomson said it would be “several years” before there was a possibility of Tasman village getting clean drinking water. The most realistic option would be to include the village in the proposed coastal pipeline that would take water from the Motueka Plains to coastal areas of the district, but this could take years to build. The option of including a pipeline in the bypass had not been considered, he said. The village had no official water rating because it was not on mains water. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 15 November 2008) MONACO LUXURY RESORT OPENDamien O’Connor’s last task as Minister of Tourism was to open a multimillion-dollar addition to the Nelson tourism and hospitality industry. About six years in the making, the $60 million luxury hotel and resort village provides hotel-style accommodation and self-contained cottages for up to 280 guests. It features 20 hotel rooms, 36 one-bedroom studios, six one-bedroom cottages and 40 two-bedroom cottages, as well as a restaurant, shops and recreation facilities. The project has won widespread acclaim. Last month it won the overall award and the best accommodation hotel category at the Hospitality Association of New Zealand awards. The Grand Mercure Nelson Monaco joined the global Accor brand in July. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 15 November 2008) PALL OF SMOKE PLAYED DOWNA dark plume of smoke that hung over the hospital valley early yesterday morning was the product of a 1910 coal-powered boiler. But Paul Ladbrook, the manager of Alsco Nelson Laundry, which created the pollution, said it was a once in every two to three-year occurrence and was caused by the boiler going out and then having to be re-lit in a hurry. The pollution happened at about 7.30am and lasted for around 10 minutes. The nature of coal power was that if it was re-lit fast it caused a dark plume but that rapidly dispersed and for the rest of the day it burned without dark emissions, although they did occasionally occur briefly on some days. Council environment inspections manager Bob Askew said there was provision under the Resource Management Act for instances like yesterday morning, where there were mechanical breakdowns or if a fire had to be started in a hurry. (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 15 November 2008) PROPERTY WATCHSection bids fall short Mapua properties popular Builder branching out New valuations in January Airport building for saleThe former Origin Pacific building at Nelson Airport, which has only ever been partially tenanted since the airline folded a couple of years ago, is on the market for $2.75 million. First National agent Jim McNabb said that ideally, owner Honk Group was looking for tenants from aviation-based industries to lease the building but might also consider selling. Store plans fall through (The Nelson Mail, Saturday 15 November 2008) |
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