Worker complex gets go-ahead on Budge St

A riverside section in Blenheim will be transformed into seasonal worker accommodation despite opposition from neighbours.

The rear property, on Budge St, will house 10 buildings with enough beds to sleep 240 seasonal workers.

But Seasonal Labour Accommodation Provider (SLAP) Marlborough project manager Trevor Pearce said he was ‘‘not doing forward rolls and cartwheels’’ following the resource consent approval.

‘‘We’ve got a lot of work to do yet . . . we’ve got more engineering investigations of the site, there’s strengthening required on the [O¯ paoa] riverbank, and we’ve got to demolish the house,’’ Pearce said.

Nine nearby householders opposed the plan, and five spoke at a consent hearing in March, covering issues from increased traffic to a loss of peacefulness, privacy and disturbance to the O¯ paoa River habitat.

But their complaints were not enough to sway independent commissioner Jeremy Butler and Marlborough District councillors Nadine Taylor and Cynthia Brooks.

There was ‘‘significant and urgent’’ demand for seasonal worker accommodation, the panel wrote in its decision.

‘‘The workers make a substantial contribution to the economic wellbeing of Blenheim and Marlborough.

‘‘Further, the workers and their families and communities benefit from the additional income that they are able to generate.

‘‘These benefits are only sustainable if sufficient accommodation is available for the workers.

‘‘In this respect we consider that the proposal will make a valuable contribution.’’

If the complex was well managed, adverse noise and activities raised in neighbourhood opposition could be avoided, the panel said.

However, they still held concerns about the noise of sliding car doors early in the morning, the decision said.

‘‘They are such a pervasive and characteristic noise.’’

It was inevitable an esplanade along the river would be created to allow public access to the river, the decision said.

Despite neighbour concerns that people would use the riverbank for drug use and leave rubbish, the panel said it was not appropriate to bar entrance to the riverbank.

‘‘We accept that voices may be heard at Lane St properties as a result but this is an anticipated effect of living in an urban environment, and particularly next to a river that is a recreational focus point.’’

Residents would be banned from hunting any animals, fish or birds from the river.

The panel found that, given expert evidence, the noise was likely to comply with relevant noise standards, and if an acoustic barrier fence was built the effect on neighbours would be less than minor.

However, the panel agreed with neighbour submissions that the proposed plantings between the riverbank and property could be more ‘‘visually lush and attractive’’.

An existing walnut tree must be kept and other mature trees should be kept where possible. The landscape plan must include larger trees on the upper banks, native plantings, and species that provide food for native birds.

Construction would not happen between 6pm and 7.30am, and sprinklers would be used to minimise dust, and nets would keep sediment from entering the river. The New Zealand Transport Agency would approve a construction traffic plan.

Residents were not to play outdoor games or music after 8.30pm. They were banned from slamming or ‘‘wrench[ing] open’’ any sliding van doors, and the doors must be maintained to avoid ‘‘unreasonable noise’’.

However a suggestion that staff might be trained in how to close doors quietly, proposed at the consent hearing, was not included.

Increased traffic was ‘‘not a significant central issue’’. NZTA said yellow dotted lines outside the property, near the railway line, should be extended to prevent roadside parking from crowding the street and to preserve sight lines.

The Marlborough District Council would be able to review the list of conditions if adverse effects, such as a longterm shortfall of parking or congestion on Budge St, developed.