Nelson Weekly
03 548 2770 41 Nile Street East, Nelson
03 548 2770 03 548East, 2770 41 Nelson 41 Nile Nile Street Street East, Nelson
Locally Owned and Operated
41 Nile Street East, Nelson
Wednesday 24 January 2024
Lights, camera...
GORDON PREECE Ramping up the Nelson Tasman skateboard culture was Nelsonian Ben Short’s focus. The skateboarding enthusiast has recently released a one-hour video on his YouTube channel, BensEyeView, which was filmed over five years to showcase local skateboarding hotspots and talent. Ben says he had attempted to land tricks for more than 25 years and had occasionally filmed his stunts. After a stint as a video editor at Skydive Abel Tasman where he honed his filmmaking skills, he was sidelined from his hobby to undergo reconstruction surgery after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in a skateboarding injury.
Ben Short has rolled out a YouTube video showcasing Nelson Tasman skateboard culture. Photo: Gordon Preece.
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Nelson’s $100,000 flower baskets MAX FRETHEY
Local Democracy Reporter
Nelson’s hanging flower baskets are either a colourful badge of civic pride or décor reminiscent of a 1950s retirement village, depending on who you ask. However, one thing that’s not up for debate is the reality of their annual $100,000 cost. The baskets were on track to be pruned out of Nelson City Council’s 2024-34 Long Term Plan to
save costs, but councillors narrowly voted to keep them in the draft plan during a meeting last month. Councillor Mel Courtney led the effort to retain the baskets, saying removing them would do “untold reputational damage” to the city. “The flowering baskets mean a lot to people and would be missed by so many if taken away. The hanging baskets show we care, the hanging baskets show that we have civic pride,” he says.
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED
Not all elected members were persuaded by his argument however, with councillor Pete Rainey saying that not everyone in the city loved the flower baskets. “There are also some that say the hanging baskets make the town look like an old people’s home. I don’t necessarily think the same thing, but I can understand where they’re coming from. It certainly stamps the city with a certain style.” He believed the annual $100,000
cost could instead be directed to more frequent cleaning of the city centre, something he says retailers want. Deputy mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens voted in favour of retaining the baskets but also raised the possibility of the money being used to hire someone dedicated to revitalising the central city. Mayor Nick Smith says removing the baskets would be a “retrograde step” but did say the council should explore possibilities to
economise the cost of the baskets. Since 2003, the baskets have cost a total of $1.7 million. The cost for the 2023/24 summer season was $108,724 for 730 baskets – about $148 per basket. If the baskets remain in the 202434 Long Term Plan, they are expected to cost about $1 million over the next decade. Retailers initially contributed to the baskets with an initial $20
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