Master plan for Maitai
Parties working with council on 700-lot development
The master plan for a proposed greenfields development of 700 lots near central Nelson is being developed in conjunction with Nelson City Council.
Earmarked for a 310ha block of land stretching from Atawhai over the hills and down through Kaka Valley, the development may take 30-40 years to complete if it is given the nod.
A syndicate of two companies is behind the venture, known as the Maitahi-Bayview development – Maitai Development Co General Partner Ltd and Bayview Nelson Ltd.
Director Richard Pollock’s company, Bayview Holdings Nelson Ltd, is the majority shareholder of Bayview Nelson Ltd. The other directors are Geoffrey Harley and Nigel Stevens.
Maitai Development Co directors are Ben Coman, Graham Vercoe, Andrew Spittal and Koata Ltd chief executive Hemi Toia. Koata Ltd is the commercial arm of Nga ti Koata.
Spitall, an experienced developer, said it was valuable having the Ngati Koata perspective of long-term stewardship of the land.
Toia said the Maitai River was ‘‘first and foremost’’ in the syndicate’s considerations.
‘‘If the Maitai River is of any value to anyone, it certainly is of value to iwi significantly,’’ Toia said. ‘‘We know and understand its history, we understand what its life force is and how important it is.’’
Getting the vision right for the development and improving the health of the river was foremost ‘‘because that’s the future, that’s the longevity, that’s the legacy that we will leave’’.
‘‘From an iwi perspective, how much money we make in there is useful, how well we look after the river is even more important,’’ Toia said.
The developers proposed to set aside a reserve of about 4ha adjacent to the river where Ka ka Valley meets Maitai Valley, which may involve the development of a wetland.
They also planned to improve the Kaka Stream, which is a tributary of the river.
‘‘The Ka ka Stream itself isn’t really alive,’’ Toia said. ‘‘We’re going to bring that alive.’’
Spittal said the land had been in Harley ownership since 1968. Maitai Development Co bought a 68ha plot in the Kaka Valley, which had already been identified in the council’s Future Development Strategy as an area for urban expansion in decade two, between 2028-38.
The intention was for the two landowners to work from either end of the proposed development guided by the master plan.
‘‘It’s an opportunity that’s not going to be piecemeal,’’ Spittal said.
House-land packages were not planned. Sections would go to the market.
Spittal said the aim was for homes to start from $550,000, but acknowledged those on the hills with sweeping views of Tasman Bay were likely to cost millions.
Key council staff had visited the site and been involved in discussions on what could be part of the development including green space, a neighbourhood reserve, a walkway linking the Centre of NZ with Bayview, roading and a shared cycleway to Nile St.
‘‘One of the big things we want to promote out here is walking distance, cycling distance, scootering distance to town,’’ Spittal said.
Discussions with the council had included keeping Gibbs Bridge single lane in Maitai Valley as a traffic calming measure but adding a dedicated cycleway/ pathway bridge alongside.
‘‘We’ve been working with their freshwater people, soil engineers, stormwater engineers, ecologists,’’ Spittal said of the syndicate’s engagement with the council. ‘‘Hemi, Richie and I presented to the full council meeting on the 3rd of December.’’
Those discussions had also included the provision of a road from Atawhai to the Maitai Valley to improve the resilience of the network and provide an alternative to State Highway 6 in case of a serious crash or weather event.
However, despite that early engagement and the council’s application for $25 million from central Government to upgrade
‘‘We’ve looked at topography, geotechnical risks, freshwater, riparian – a whole range of issues – and come up with a master plan.’’
Mark Lile
Consultant
infrastructure near the site there was ‘‘no intention to cut any corners’’.
‘‘We still have to get a plan change ... we still have to get resource consent,’’ Spittal said.
‘‘We’re not bypassing any process.
‘‘There was an opportunity to get some central government funding to fix an existing problem.’’
Council group manager of infrastructure Alec Louverdis said the infrastructure in question was earmarked to be upgraded in the next 10 years to increase capacity and deal with issues such as infiltration of stormwater into the wastewater system.
The Government funding meant that upgrade work could be brought forward if the council’s application was successful.
Consultant Mark Lile said the private plan change application was expected to be lodged in late July-August.
It would request a change of zoning at the site to pave the way for residential development.
‘‘We’ve looked at topography, geo-technical risks, freshwater, riparian – a whole range of issues – and come up with a master plan, a structure plan, which would mean changing the zoning to provide for a structured redevelopment of that site,’’ Lile said.
Council environmental management group manager Clare Barton said standard requests for plan changes were notified.
Louverdis said it was not unusual to sit down and work through a master plan with developers.
It was exciting looking at what could be done in the area, he said.