The Sun
Friday January 9, 2015
11
farming Marlborough
Forum still up for grabs The owners of the Forum building, in the Blenheim CBD, say the building is still for sale. Terry Gillan says the building had received a high level of interest since going on the market at the start of October.
The two-storey premises currently has 14 tenancies, including restaurants, a hairdresser’s and commercial offices. Geoff Dentice from Mark Stevenson First National Real Estate is dealing with the sale.
Spending rise It was a busier Christmas period last year than in 2013 for Marlborough businesses. The latest figures from electronic payments provider Paymark show the value of spending was $65mil. in Marlborough during the month of December, up 5.2 percent from the 2013 figure of $62.1mil. The number of transactions also rose – to 1,200,000 from 1,130,000.
Otago, with 8.5 percent, and Nelson, with 8.2 percent, recorded the largest increases. Marlborough’s rise was in keeping with the national trend, with only two of the 17 regions, Gisborne and Southland, recording a decrease. Christmas Eve 2014 was Paymark’s busiest day on record.
Club day Against All Odds Paintball, past the refuse station on Wither Road, are hosting an open day later this month. The Marlborough Militia paintball club. Club day is being held on Sunday, January 25, beginning at noon and finishing at 6pm. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook. Jethro Browning-Davies, David Bull, Bradley Mattison and Jason Andrews (front) of Against All Odds Paintball.
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The new Farmlands site.
Farmlands building coming together By Adam Poulopoulos Farmlands Blenheim staff are excited to move to their new premises, as construction on the building gathers pace. The new premises are located on Westwood Avenue in Springlands, and will be significantly larger than the business’s current home, on the corner of Redwood and Kinross Street. Farmlands Blenheim business manager Susan Pope says significant growth since
Farmlands and Combined Rural Traders merged on March 1, 2013, meant a bigger area was needed. “We’ve outgrown our facilities here. “We haven’t got room for the amount of produce we need, so the sooner we get out there the better.” Robinson Construction are working on the building. Staff are likely to move into the building in April.
Rural Women congratulates Liz Evans on New Year’s Honour Rural Women New Zealand members are thrilled that Liz Evans, their former national president and a national life member, has been recognised for her services to rural women in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list, having been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM). Liz Evans served as Rural Women® national president from 2011 to 2013, and was Marlborough provincial secretary for 10 years.
She was also the administrator for the Marlborough Provincial Federated Farmers from 2003 to 2011. Mrs Evans says she sees the award as both a personal recognition, and recognition of Rural Women New Zealand as an organisation. “My association with Rural Women New Zealand has been a long and interesting journey over 40 years. “Over that time the same issues have come up – advocacy for better services, or
not losing services, in rural, to the anxiety about membership,” she says. She also counts among her most rewarding achievements the establishment of the Enterprising Rural Women Awards, now in their sixth year, which have helped raise the profile of women running a wide variety of small rural businesses. Originally a town girl, Mrs Evans was introduced to rural life when she married husband Geoff in 1974.
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