Waimea Weekly
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Wednesday 22 March 2017
Dave sets sail Page 4
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e v i t i s Po
Sights set on podium
ageing expo
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Building boom gets bigger Simon Bloomberg Reporter
simon@waimeaweekly.co.nz
Home building companies are only just keeping up with demand after a 26 per cent increase in building consents for new dwellings in the Tasman district last year and one company predicts 2018 will be even bigger and “blow 2016 out of the water”. The latest Tasman District Coun-
cil figures show that 394 building consents were issued for new dwellings last year, up from 290 in 2015 and 274 in 2014. And the boom looks set to continue with council being inundated with applications for resource consents for new subdivisions around the district. Last month, council granted resource consents for a new 63-lot residential subdivision between Pitfure Rd and Edward St in
Wakefield while consents for another 130 lots in Richmond West and a 135-lot sub-division on the Moutere Highway are now being processed. That follows the approval of the 130-lot Hart Rise sub-division on the corner of Paton Rd and Hart Rd in November and approval for another 60 lots in Richmond West - 50 lots in the Hart Rise subdivision had pre-sold within 24-hours of their release in Sep-
tember. Council environment and planning manager Dennis Bush-King says the demand for sub-divisions and new houses has “certainly exceeded” their projections and staff have been “under the pump” trying to process all the consents. Council received 47 applications for sub-division resource consents in the six months to December 2016 compared to 58 in the previous 12 months.
Milestone Homes Nelson Bays regional manager Adam Hills says 2016 was their biggest year with an 80 per cent increase in the number of homes constructed. “We went from 25 homes in 2015 to 40 last year,” Adam says. “We’ll build around the mid-30s this year, so it’s going to be a little quieter but, looking at all the
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SUMMER HARVEST FARE: Carolyn Lock, Robyn Byers, Nancy Nyberg and Genie at Sundial Square on Friday night for the Sprig & Fern Summer Harvest Fare, where St Patrick’s Day was just as much a part of the celebrations as the regions harvest. Each year the event successfully draws people in their hundreds and this year was no different when it came to crowd numbers. People’s behaviour was also positive with no alcohol-related incidents taking place at the event. The Sprig & Fern Summer Harvest Fare featured around 30 local wine, beer and food stalls, plus live music from Not Too Dry. Photo: Jessie Johnston.
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