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Edinburgh Reporter
25-07-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Reporter
Cottage owner told to delay extension until after nesting season
A cottage owner has been given the go ahead to extend their home as long as they wait until the end of nesting season before removing hedgerow. East Lothian planners granted permission for the single story extension to Spilmersford Cottage, East Saltoun, which will involve using part of a paddock next to the garden. But they added a condition ensuring no work can begin without a thorough investigation showing no birds are in residence in the hedge, which will be removed to make way for the new building. Approving a change of use of part of the paddock to domestic ground and the extension to the cottage, planners said: 'No removal of hedgerows shall take place between 1st March and 31st August inclusive, unless a detailed check of the site for active birds' nests has been undertaken and written confirmation has been submitted to the planning authority that no birds will be harmed and that there are appropriate measures in place to protect nesting bird interest on the site. 'The check shall be undertaken no later than 48 hours before the commencement of the development and no site clearance or other works in connection with the development hereby approved shall commence unless the written confirmation and protection measures have been submitted to and approved in writing by East Lothian Biodiversity Officer.' The owners of the property applied for permission to extend the cottage out to its side into part of the paddock saying that they had decided against a back garden extension because they wanted to take advantage of the sunlight which came into the property from the rear. They said the single story extension which will prove additional living space would be in keeping with the style of cottages in the area and any hedgerow removed would be replaced in new landscaping. Approving the application planners noted comments from their biodiversity officer who also called for measure to be put in place to ensure no badgers were disturbed in the area, which was also added into conditions. Their report said: 'The application site is adjacent to the River Tyne Local Biodiversity Site and has a number of notable species within 200m of the property. 'The Biodiversity Officer further notes that the applicant has detailed the removal of and the intention to replace 11 metres of beech hedging, this should be detailed on any conditioned landscape plans for consideration. 'The removal of the hedge should not be undertaken within the bird breeding season. The applicant is reminded that, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, (as amended), it is an offence to remove, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built. 'Planning consent for a development does not provide a defence against prosecution under this act. If nesting birds are discovered after works commence, such works must stop, and a competent ecologist must be contacted for advice.' By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Scoop
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Scoop
Frustration Grows Over Auckland Road Works ‘Mess'
Article – Torika Tokalau – Local Democracy Reporter Works on a Auckland street are expected to drag on due to delays. Motorists using a south Auckland road are fed up with road works, which are expected to drag on for almost two years due to delays. The Paerata Road culvert upgrade in Pukekohe started in April 2024 and was to be completed this spring, but will now finish in February 2026. Auckland Council is upgrading the stormwater culvert on the southern end of Paerata Rd, after extreme weather and Cyclone Gabrielle caused severe flooding to nearby properties in 2023. Resident John Lewis said there seemed to be no end in sight for the roadworks. 'I know it has to be done and I'm all for improving infrastructure but for someone who frequents the road, it's been really annoying that it's taken this long,' Lewis said. Pukekohe resident Marama Ratu said traffic was a mess and the potholes didn't help either. 'They've [potholes] just gotten worse,' she said. 'It's already slow going through there, then we have to swerve to avoid these huge potholes that just keep getting bigger … it's a mess.' She understood why the project was important but questioned its delay. 'They're saying it's going to be completed next year, that's almost two years of this spectacle. Surely, they could complete it sooner?' Council said the reason for the delay was because it chose the most traffic-friendly construction approach, which meant constructing the bridge in two halves. According to council, 17,000 vehicles cross the culvert every day. Council's principal delivery – special projects Leighton Gillespie said the bridge was being constructed in halves to keep the roads open. 'But [it] ensures continued access for all road users,' Gillespie said. He said the council opted for the most traffic-friendly construction approach for the project. 'While this means extending the overall programme duration, it allows us to maintain uninterrupted two-lane traffic flow throughout the works. 'This decision was made to minimise disruption for the community and local businesses by avoiding full road closures or stop/go traffic control.' Gillespie said they also encountered some unforeseen utility services that required relocation and coordination, which have contributed to delays in the programme. 'These challenges have now been resolved, but the associated impacts on time remain.' Council's upgrade of the stormwater culvert on the southern end of Paerata Road meant replacing the existing 1.8m x 1.8m box culvert with a 12-metre-long bridge across Whangapouri Creek. 'Fortunately, we have been able to progress downstream works while approvals were being finalised, helping to maintain overall momentum. 'We've received relatively few complaints about traffic to date, and we continue to adapt our traffic management in response to the needs of businesses and the wider community.' Gillespie said the work was important to help future-proof the stormwater network by reducing the frequency of flooding upstream, and the risk of the culvert overflowing. 'We will also be completing erosion protection and securing downstream slopes.' It was all part of wider stormwater upgrades in the area, to reduce flooding and support future growth, he said.
Scoop
30-06-2025
- General
- Scoop
80,000 Books: Library Service Reaches Schools, Rest Homes And Young Offenders
Article – Laura Smith – Local Democracy Reporter In the five years to April, it issued 81,906 books, eight DVDs, 1018 magazines, 257 memory aids and 1234 talking books for a total of 84,423. A mobile Rotorua library service has delivered more than 80,000 books to housebound residents, schoolchildren and youth offenders over the past five years. Rotorua Lakes Council's Library to You service – previously the housebound delivery service and onsite outreach van selection service – has operated for more than 25 years. It was among the 92 percent of libraries offering a similar service. Council organisational performance and innovation group manager Thomas Collé said, in response to a Local Democracy Reporting official information request, that the service was about equity. It provided equitable access for the Rotorua community to enjoy reading resources regardless of their physical ability to visit the library. Library to You services were for people housebound because of age, disability, illness or injury, stress, wellness, caregiving responsibilities, social or economic issues, and who have a lack of available support. This could be at home or in a rest home. 'We deliver books, magazines and memory aid resources from our dementia collection,' Collé said. It also delivered to preschools and primary schools, including the School for Young Parents and the Youth Detention Facility. 'Many schools no longer have libraries, and both schools and preschools have limited budgets to offer students books for recreational reading to supplement curriculum-based reading. The purpose is to encourage a love of reading and improve literacy.' Anonymised examples of service users' feedback included the daughter of a Redwood Village resident who said how much her mum loved the books. Another was a 92-year-old from Lake View Villas who said receiving the books was the highlight of her day. How it worked was every individual or school filled in a profile for book selection; Western was 'consistently' the favourite for those who were housebound. Staff chose fitting books and delivered to a schedule. The dedicated library vehicle is driven by the Library to You co-ordinator and customer support staff on a rostered basis. The vehicle is also used to provide literacy outreach programmes to preschools and schools. The service is funded through the library annual operating budget, received from rates, and costs about $40,000 a year. The vehicle cost $45,000 and was funded by Rotorua Friends of the Library. In the last five years, it serviced 26 preschools and 22 classrooms in six primary schools, reaching an estimated 1800 children over the past year. On average, the housebound delivery service supported 28-50 adults each year. In the five years to April, it issued 81,906 books, eight DVDs, 1018 magazines, 257 memory aids and 1234 talking books for a total of 84,423. Housebound deliveries were fortnightly and covered about 72.4 kilometres of driving each time. Monthly primary school deliveries covered about 135km each time, excluding the Christmas holidays, while preschool deliveries were about 96.2km each month. 'Our longest-serving customer has been receiving housebound deliveries for 20-plus years. Most of the individual housebound customers would receive service for several years,' Collé said.
Scoop
26-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Ashburton's Market Day To Move After Retailer Complaints
Article – Jonathan Leask – Local Democracy Reporter It means a popular annual market day in September has to move – but only just down road. Market days are no longer welcome on a section of Ashburton's main street during business hours. It means a popular annual market day in September has to move – but only just down road. Retailers had argued the town's main street was no place for a market as the road closures hurt local shops. The Ashburton District Council voted last week to ban events on the block of East Street, south of Havelock Street, if they required road closures. The organiser of Ashburton's annual market day sees the decision as positive. Spealing to LDR this week, Carol Johns said she was already looking to move the market day one block north on East Street, in front of Baring Square East. 'I was just waiting for the council to make a decision. 'I'm not worried, I'll move and the market day will still go ahead. 'Nothing changes, we just move down the road a wee bit. 'There are more positives than negatives.' The move means Johns will have to pay for a new traffic management plan, but only has to contact three businesses about a road closure, rather than 96. Baring Square East had a $2.45 million upgrade in 2023 to coincide with the construction of the $62.3m Te Whare Whakatere, Ashburton's library and civic centre. That investment led to the majority of councillors voting to close the southern end of East Street off to market events during business hours, at a council meeting on 18 June. The annual market day attracts thousands of people to Ashburton. It is held on South Canterbury Anniversary Day, on the fourth Monday of September, which is not an Ashburton District public holiday. When discussing the options last week, councillor Tony Todd said historically the local businesses were heavily involved in the market day, previously known as Boulevard Day, but times have changed. 'The event was fully supported by local retailers but over time that support has declined, and other operators have been involved,' Todd said. 'The day still attracts a large number of people to the CBD that mainly walk the street and the vendor stalls have become a barrier to get into retailers stores. 'It's time for a change. 'The market day is still important to the town so we should support it, but I think a new location will breathe new life back into it.' Another issue is Burnett and Tancred streets becoming one way, which means they also close when East Street is closed, Todd said. Councillor Phill Hooper felt no events should occur south of Havelock Street as the council had invested in making Baring Square an event space. 'We spent the moolah out here, let's have it out here,' Hooper said. The councillors voted 9-1 for the section of East Street south of Havelock Street to be off limits to events 'involving trade and associated equipment' between 8am-5:30pm, Monday to Saturday. Hooper was the lone opposing vote, supporting the alternative option of no events south of Havelock Street. Compliance and development group manager Ian Hyde said a short closure for an event with no stationary caravans, stalls, tents or other structures could still be permitted.
Scoop
26-06-2025
- General
- Scoop
Matariki Pou Whenua Unveiling Marks Milestone For East Coast Marae's Cyclone Rebuild
Article – Zita Campbell – Local Democracy Reporter 'It's emotional for us because it is a long time coming,' a marae trust official says. A Tai Rāwhiti hapū unveiled a pou whenua over Matariki weekend, marking the beginning of its journey to relocate and rebuild its marae after it was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle more than two years ago. The waters reached 3 metres up the wharenui wall of Rangatira Marae when the cyclone struck Te Karaka on 14 February, 2023. The water line marks are still visible on the wharenui mahau (entrance). 'There wasn't any other option but to relocate,' the secretary of the Rangatira Marae Trust, Whitiaua Ropitini, said at the event on Saturday. Ropitini said the destruction was 'heart-wrenching', but the Ngāti Wahia hapū (of Te Aitanga a Māhaki) persevered. The pou whenua is dedicated to tipuna (ancestor) Wi Haronga, who will act as kaitiaki (guardian) over the project and signal the start of construction, Ropitini said. 'We're here with Wi Haronga … Watching over us and seeing us through our build … bringing our people home, our whānau home and bringing our community together again.' Many whānau had been up since the early hours attending the 4.15am dawn service, the karakia whakamoe, at the existing marae, which was followed by a karakia whakatapu (consecration) at the proposed new site and a pōhiri to unveil the pou whenua. The pou whenua was carved by local kai whakairo (carver) Eruera Brown (Te Aitanga a Māhaki/Ngāti Porou), who teaches at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. 'Through his strong whakapapa links to Rangatira Marae, Eru was approached by the marae trustees to design and carve the pou based on the kaupapa,' Ropitini later told Local Democracy Reporting. The marae is being rebuilt at the corner of Kanakanaia Rd and Paulson Rd, just a few minutes' drive by car from its original site at 66 Rangatira Rd. Rangatira Marae whānau and friends attended the unveiling of the pou, with mayor Rehette Stoltz, National East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick, Labour MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, and the national president of Red Cross, John Dyer all present. Millions for marae rebuilds from government Kirkpatrick said when she first saw the destruction of the marae, there was an 'absolute feeling of hopelessness'. She was delighted the Crown was able to play its part in the relocation. Last month, the government announced $136.2 million in funding for the Whenua Māori and Marae Relocation Programme, which supports Māori communities severely affected by North Island weather events, and includes Rangatira and four other Tai Rāwhiti marae: Puketawai, Ōkuri, Hinemaurea and Takipū. It was the first time everyone was able to gather at the new site together, which Kirkpatrick noted was fitting: 'At the time of Matariki, where it's time for us to honour what's gone before us, celebrate our successes, and look to the future.' Two months after the cyclone, in late April 2023, the hapū engaged Asher Nikora of Rotorua company Xcel Builders, which specialises in marae renovations and rebuilds, to direct the project. According to a statement, from February to April 2023, the Marae Trust and Nikora conducted Conceptual Design Wānanga both in person and online, where whānau and hapū were asked to add to 'the dream list' of potential designs and concepts. In August 2023, the hapū received an Oranga Marae technical feasibility grant to carry out an assessment. A year later, on August 12, 2024, the Rangatira Marae Trust secured the purchase of the whenua (land) for its marae rebuild. At the unveiling, Nikora said his company will hire locals where possible, and he expects the build to take anywhere between a year and a year and a half. 'It is building effectively a marae from scratch.' They looked 'long and hard' at the logistics of moving the wharenui but found that there had been 'significant deterioration'. They want to maintain the essence of that wharenui, which includes transferring some of its key elements, Nikora said. 'The idea is that when you walk into the new wharenui … it will give you the same feeling around the existing wharenui that, of course, many of you will have many fond memories [of].' In January, the Rangatira Marae Trust received a Crown offer from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's Cyclone Recovery Unit, which the trustees signed in May, according to a statement. A revival journey Before the cyclone, the marae and hapū had been undergoing 'a revival journey' that started in 2016 and led to many whānau returning, the statement says. The existing Te Whakahau wharenui opened on 5 November, 1926; however, over the years, 'it fell dormant due to social, economic, and urban drift'. In 2019/2020, the marae trust secured funding grants, including from the Provincial Growth Fund, which enabled renovations valued at $200,000. Ropitini said at the pōhiri that the trust had completed several works and the last job came in January, just before the cyclone. 'The floods came through and took over everything … The carpet was only six months old. 'Today is about a celebration of our next stage. 'It's emotional for us because it is a long time coming.'
