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Tomlinson & Carruthers work behind the scenes
to make client's dreams become reality. Here are
a few recent examples that have made the
headlines.
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27 October 2007
Industrial
park set to spark boom times
By Matthew Stewart
The imminent construction of a 16ha
industrial park at Waingawa is set to
create a vibrant manufacturing base
boosting Wairarapa jobs, population
growth and industry.
Site owner Gillies Group hope to begin
stage one of the project in the next two
weeks once final consents and engineering
approval had been granted and contracts
awarded.
“We expect an influx of businesses
from out of the area, especially
Wellington, but also from the greater
Wellington region. In the long term we
think businesses will relocate their
manufacturing bases here because of the
bigger lots and cheaper land
values,” Mr Brodie said.
8 of 12 lots in stage one have already
been sold to investors including a show
home complex for Gillies Group subsidiary
Golden Homes fronting State Highway 2.
“We’ve also sold four sections
to a group of Wellington investors who
have not yet disclosed their plans to us
– that’s a sign of confidence
in the wider Wairarapa economy”.
Mr Brodie would not identify the names of
the other investors but indicated that a
large ‘big box’ retailer was
interested in one of the lots.
When work begins at the Norman Avenue
site $5m of sewerage, water and
electricity infrastructure will be built
for 40 lots, which range from 1000m2 to
8000m2.
The land is designated future industrial
under the proposed Combined Wairarapa
District Plan and will be subject to a
comprehensive economic analysis submitted
to the Carterton District Council by
Gillies Group when stage two commences.
Mr Brodie was confident the first stage
would be completed in early January with
work on the balance of 28 lots to begin
in February or March next year.
“We’ve had a lot of interest
from Wellington for stage two and we
believe the industrial park will lead to
job growth, population growth and
economic growth for the entire Wellington
region, in the long-term it is hoped that
businesses from the wider Wellington
region will shift their manufacturing
bases here,” he said.
“We believe it’s a result of
good planning by the three council to
identify this area as an industrial park
and the Carterton District council has
been a pleasure to deal with”.
The subdivision’s northern
neighbours Hiremax echoed Mr
Brodie’s applause of
Wairarapa’s three district councils.
“There’s been a shortage of
industrial development here, Wairarapa
needs growth and it’s good that the
councils amalgamated on this, it will
have the positive flow on effect of jobs
and has huge potential for the local
economy,” Hiremax general manager
Joe Hart said.
Related Links:
 Projects: Waingawa
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DULCIE ROUTHAN on Connolly?s Line, the
location of a proposed 25-lot
subdivision. Photo: Lynda Feringa
6 February 2007
Time
for farm to be split up
By Gerald Ford
DULCIE ROUTHAN of Carterton is not your
average developer.
The 83-year-old former schoolteacher has
lived in Carterton all her life, and owns
32 houses in the town, including her own.
Now Miss Routhan is ready to sell the
family farm on Connolly's Line, and the
plan is to divide the land into 25
sections on the outskirts of the town.
The sections will be
"medium-sized", Miss Routhan
said, because "there's not a lot of
wealthy people in Carterton".
The consent also includes two reserves of
5000m2 and 6100m2, with a new road
accessed from Connolly's Line.
The land borders "Sparks Park",
an area named after Miss Routhan's
grandfather that she donated to the town.
Residents will be able to walk through
Sparks Park to the train station.
An only child and "the last of the
line", Miss Routhan said it is time
for the land, which has been in her
family "since the Maori wars",
to be sold.
Miss Routhan's interest in developing
houses began when she was a child and her
father owned three houses that needed to
be maintained.
"Dad had no boys. He only had
me," Miss Routhan said.
Miss Routhan's father taught her about
how to maintain and improve houses, and
left the three houses to her when he
died.
"I knew houses inside out,"
Miss Routhan said. "I knew plumbing.
I knew papering."
Miss Routhan said her teaching money kept
her going while she continued to buy and
develop houses.
Appropriately, Miss Routhan was head of
the commerce department at Kuranui
College for 26 years.
One old house was bought by Miss Routhan
for just $4000, "the price of the
land".
"They told me the house was
worthless," Miss Routhan said,
"but I fixed it, and turned it into
two flats bringing in $200 a week."
Miss Routhan said she didn't need a
mortgage for her purchases - "As
soon as I paid one off I bought
another."
When the saleyards in Carterton were
moved, sections near the railway were
sold off "dirt cheap".
After she retired from teaching, Miss
Routhan said she had got too old to
continue renovating by herself, "but
by then I'd made my money and I could
employ people to do it."
Across the road from Miss Routhan's own
modest house is another that she owns,
one of tenon Broadway.
The residents "were noisy and it
used to annoy me", Miss Routhan
said.
"I told the lady next door to ring
me if she ever saw a real estate agent go
in there. "She rang me. I said,
'I've got to buy that house.... I bought
them out."
Miss Routhan said there is a "great
shortage of land" for building in
Carterton.
Some valuations have risen by $100,000,
which "put me into an enormous
income bracket" for paying rates.
But Miss Routhan said she likes to keep
reasonable rents - "I don't like to
do anything to poor people," - so as
rates go up, "I get less and
less".
At least one resident has indicated they
might object to the subdivision.
"He's got a right to. He'll be
heard," Miss Routhan said.
"But he can't stop it. It's
progress. Carterton's got to grow."
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The planner for the Weraiti hill farmpark
subdivision, Grant McLachlan.
22 May 2006
Innovative
subdivision for Weraiti
BY MARLENE DITCHFIELD
One of the largest and most innovative
subdivisions ever to appear in Wairarapa
is about to be launched for public
submission.
It'll be for people who want all the joy
of living in the country, without all the
commitment of land control.
Adopting a new concept in land
development and unique to this region,
the farm park subdivision takes in 74
hectares of undulating farmland atop the
Weraiti hill, east of Masterton,
commanding stunning 360 degree views of
hill country and the valley floor to the
Tararuas.
The big difference between this and other
rural subdivisions is that the proposed
54 housing sites are all around only half
a hectare each, with the surrounding
farmland grazed by a farmer, all managed
by a body corporate.
There would be just one road into the
subdivision off the Masterton to Stronvar
Road, and the entranceway will be gated
with coded access for residents only. The
settlement will have its own sewerage
system, dam, walking tracks, native
reserve, tennis court and adjacent picnic
areas and each house building site has
been carefully marked out to not obstruct
views.
The people behind the project are
Masterton electrical contractor Paul
Stiles and his partner, real estate
agent, Pru Hamill. Both were in the news
recently following the approval of
another subdivision at Opaki, where 15
one-hectare lots are being broken up for
rural living.
The couple have owned the land on Weraiti
hill for around four years and fell in
love with the view themselves. Mr Stiles
had previously owned the limeworks quarry
and knew the area and its impressive
views. "We think the Opaki
development is pretty good, but this one
is spectacular," Ms Hamill said.
Asked if they had any other developments
in the wings, she laughed and said
"these two will be enough for
now".
The idea of the farmpark was suggested to
them by planners who have noted the
success of them in other parts of the
country. The nearest one is in the Esk
Valley out of Napier, and Mr Styles and
Ms Hamill are travelling there next week
to see the concept for themselves.
The manager of the Weraiti Hill farmpark
is Grant McLachlan, from Tomlinson and
Carruthers Surveyors. He enthusiastically
took on the challenge of the subdivision
late last year, when Mr Stiles and Ms
Hamill approached him.
"It's the best example I've ever
seen of doing things well," he said.
All 15 neighbours have been told about
the plan and given extensive detail well
before it is submitted formally in early
June to the Masterton District Council
for resource management consent.
"The coolest thing about such a
rural development is that it affects the
land much less than regular rural
subdivision by sharing facilities."
Each house site will have their own water
collection but there will also be
corporate water tanks for the entire site
as well as the communal sewerage
treatment.
The entrance on to the development is off
the Masterton-Stronvar road. This road
will be straightened "taking out a
wicked kink" and a turning lane
introduced.
The entrance to the gated community will
be set down with walled hillsides and
special tarsealing designed to keep
traffic noise down.
Related Links:
Projects: Stronvar
Farmpark
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28 April 2006
Transit
under fire at subdivision hearing
BY MARLENE DITCHFIELD
Transit NZ went into a subdivision
hearing in Masterton yesterday with guns
blazing, but it was the state highway
manager itself which ended up taking the
shots.
Transit was opposing an 18ha subdivision
north of Masterton at Opkai, off Wingate
Road, between the railway line and the
Ruamahunga River.
It warned the Masterton District Council
hearings committee that the proposal
would set a dangerous precedent, in that
the subdivision relied totally on the
state highway to access the area.
The council is expected to make a
decision today on the proposal.
Transit argued the subdivision would turn
the state highway from being a main
arterial route to one of servicing local
traffic.
It felt it would seriously affect
Transit's primary aim to provide state
highways as an "integrated, safe,
responsive, and sustainable land
transport system."
Not so, said traffic engineer, Tim Kelly
who spoke on behalf of the applicants.
He accused Transit of interpreting the
state highway rationale into meaning that
any development, anywhere, even those not
directly accessing the state highway,
would have a detrimental effect on main
roads.
Mr Kelly said such concern might be
justified if a major retail centre was
being suggested. But he said the state
highway at Opaki was "lightly
trafficked" and the subdivision
proposal would increase traffic flow by 2
per cent – on average, one extra car
every 20 minutes.
"It appears that Transit
over-enthusiastically applies the same
argument on principle, regardless of the
scale of the effect. The result is at
best additional delays and costs to
applicants and councils, and at worst a
stifling of economic activity, which runs
contrary to one of the main objectives of
the New Zealand Transport Strategy, to
promote economic development."
He said this was not just a problem for
Wairarapa, but one for the whole country.
"I am disappointed Transit has not
engaged more closely with local
communities in a pro-active manner to
address the issues and seek a common
outcome of promoting, rather than
hindering economic activity."
In its submission, Transit pointed out
the intersection had seen eight crashes
in a four-year period, but Mr Kelly
suggested the accidents might have had
more to do with the Opaki rail overbridge
configuration. He felt Transit had not
taken a reality check in relation to the
scale and impact of the subdivision.
Mr Kelly was adding to comments already
made by Glen Bunny from the Masterton
surveying firm Tomlinson and Carruthers,
which had drawn up the subdivision.
Mr Bunny said Transit has not made its
assessment and decision to oppose the
subdivision under its own guidelines.
"Transit's stance is not consistent
with its responsibilities."
He said its mindset of absolute
opposition and prevention contradicts a
statement from Transit chief executive
Rick Barneveld recently on national
television when he stated "Transit
will not and can not veto any economic
development."
"Its position appears to have been
based upon a rather dogmatic pursuit of a
policy position, which may have some
relevance, but not in this context,"
Mr Bunnysaid.
The regional manager for Transit's
Wellington office, Michael Weir, said
such a development would significantly
compromise the Masterton District
Council's District Plan. He questioned
the plan's principles and integrity.
Related Links:
Projects: Waingawa
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John
Carruthers ,Grant McLachlan and Glenn
Bunny at the site of the new subdivision
at Solway. Photo: Lynda Feringa
21 March 2006
Huge
subdivision planned
BY MARLENE DITCHFIELD
A MASSIVE subdivision planned at Solway
in south Masterton will be one of the
largest seen in the town for more than a
decade.
It has been lodged with the Masterton
District Council for planning approval
and is subject to public submission,
currently being advertised.
Submissions close March 30.
More than 15ha of farmland, already zoned
residential, bordering Solway Crescent,
South Belt, Hood aerodrome and the
Waingawa River, is to be subdivided into
117 sections.
To access the new houses, three new roads
will be constructed.
The proximity of the aerodrome mean
buildings will be restricted to 10m in
height.
The council has already approved the
first 10 lots off South Belt with the
remaining to be developed over six
stages, expected to take around 10 years.
Masterton surveyors Tomlinson and
Carruthers have prepared the proposal.
John Carruthers says the new subdivision
reflects buoyancy in land prices making
it worthwhile financially for would-be
developers.
But he's quick to add that the formula of
costs for land developers usually means
there's little money to be made until the
last 10 sections are sold.
"Costs of roading and services
usually makes it a fine line
financially," he said.
Mr Carruthers said he knew of several
developments which have been "sat
on" for many years and are only now
showing profitablility as land prices
rise.
The Solway subdivision continues a trend
in Masterton. In the past three years
other urban subdivisions have included
Sussex Street (32 lots), William Donald
Drive(24 lots), Styleline Homes off Dixon
Street (32 lots), Daniel and Ferguson
Streets (14lots) and Betts Ave/Harley
Street (10 lots).
The people behind the Solway subdivision
are Wick and Estelle Gimson, farmers at
"Cross Keys", Otahome, between
Castlepoint and Riversdale. They have
registered themselves as Solway Property
Development Ltd.
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Massive beach subdivision
approved |
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Friday, 22 April 2005 |
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By Don Farmer
PERMISSION has been granted for the
building of a massive new housing
subdivision at Riversdale Beach that will
potentially add 123 homes to the
settlement.
Hearings commissioners called in to
adjudicate on the East Leigh proposal to
create 140 building sections on hills
west of the existing settlement have
granted consent for 123 of them.
The remaining 17, being those on which
houses would be clearly seen from the
beach, have been turned down. They
included nine lots on the northern
terrace and eight on the southern
terrace.
When fully developed East Leigh will be
the biggest coastal subdivision ever
created at any one time in the Masterton
district.
It would boost the current total of 274
properties at Riversdale by nearly 50 per
cent. Most of the existing properties are
used mainly as holiday homes.
Commissioners Jim Lynch and Roger Lane,
who spent four days in Masterton hearing
submissions both for and against East
Leigh's plans, have imposed a myriad of
conditions on the subdivision's consent.
Many are of a technical nature but others
specify that only one house is to be
built on each section, that each home is
to be fitted with domestic fire
sprinklers and connected to either a
communal sewage treatment plant or one
owned and operated by Masterton District
Council.
The council has been awaiting the outcome
of the East Leigh hearings before
proceeding with a sewage treatment scheme
for Riversdale.
There have been on-going discussions as
to whether East Leigh would install a
system of its own or would join in a
council scheme servicing the entire
settlement.
Masterton Mayor Bob Francis said
yesterday the decision to allow East
Leigh to go ahead would make things much
clearer.
He said council engineers would take time
out to study the commissioners lengthy
report and "hopefully" the
result would be a combined, single
sewerage scheme for Riversdale Beach.
Other conditions imposed on the
subdivision specify maximum building
heights which for some lots are given as
5.5m above the finished ground level of
the site, and for other sections 6m.
All services to the homes such as power,
telephone connections and wastewater
reticulation are to be underground.
Archaeological conditions have also been
imposed calling on East Leigh to invite
representatives of Ngati Kahungunu and
Rangitaane to inspect planned road routes
prior to earthworks starting and if
artefacts, or human remains, are
unearthed then work is to immediately
stop an the Historic Places Trust and
tangata whenua advised.
Riversdale Beach was first developed in
the 1950s and later extended to the
south.
The commissioners have described it in
their report as the "quintessential
New Zealand holiday resort… it is
low key and has what is described as a
laid back atmosphere".
Source:Wairarapa Times Age
Related Links:
Case Study:
Riversdale
Projects: East
Leigh
Environment
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Wednesday, 27 April 2005
Green
light for Riversdale scheme
By Tanya Katterns
THE biggest coastal property development
in the Masterton district has been
approved, but with a myriad of conditions
and on a smaller scale than developers
intended.
The new housing subdivision at Riversdale
Beach by East Leigh has been granted
resource consent after a two-day hearing
in Masterton.
East Leigh proposed to create 140
building sections on three elevated
coastal terraces west of the Riversdale
Beach settlement.
Hearing commissioners Jim Lynch and Roger
Lane, who were called in to adjudicate,
have granted consent for 123 sections.
They will range mostly from 800 square
metres to 1200 sq m, though some will be
bigger than 2000 sq m.
Those turned down were houses which would
have been seen clearly from the beach.
There are currently 247 properties,
predominantly holiday homes, at
Riversdale.
East Leigh first applied for consent
early last year, a process that created a
storm of opposition.
Masterton District Council handled 96
submissions, of which only 20 supported
or conditionally supported the
development.
Residents and holiday home owners opposed
to the scheme say they did not want a
rural backdrop littered by big
two-storyed homes.
The council ruled that the application
would have to go to a full hearing and
appointed two independent commissioners
to deal with it.
East Leigh spent 10 months reworking its
application, aiming to convince the
commissioners its development would not
damage the character of the village or
put pressure on infrastructure.
The commissioners imposed several
conditions.
They include the construction of just one
house on each section, maximum building
heights and that the new homes be
connected to either a communal sewage
treatment plant or one owned and operated
by Masterton District Council.
The council and East Leigh have been
holding closed-door meetings in recent
months over sewage scheme options for the
settlement.
The council is keen for the scheme to
develop a combined scheme to service the
entire settlement.
Related Links:
Case Study:
Riversdale
Projects: East
Leigh
Environment
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3
November 2004
Market
garden land safe, says council
By Lisa Davidson
Masterton District Council says a market
garden on the east side of town that has
been subdivided into residential sections
is safe.
The sale of 32-section subdivision on the
site of a former market garden off Sussex
Street and Kaka Street follows news that
Auckland city council is notifying 1000
property owners that their land could be
contaminated by dangerous levels of DDT,
lead and copper from previous
horticultural activity.
Masterton District Council planner Sue
Southey said yesterday the council was
satisfied that the land, a market garden
for 25 years, has been tested and is
safe.
"The highly reputable firm
Montgomery Watson Hazra Ltd carried out
exhaustive soil sample-taking, which was
tested by R.J.Hill Laboratories for
pesticides and metals, and the results
were viewed by a council environmental
officer.
"A multi-residue screen test showed
minimal soil residues, well below health
authority standards requirements.
"There was only one hot spot along
the old site of a row of garden sheds
that testing indicated the presence of
elevated lead levels."
This area is where the proposed new road
will go in, and more than a kilometre
from stage one of the development.
"The hot-spot soil will be retested
when it is dug up for the road. If the
soil shows unacceptable lead levels, then
it will either be buried under the road,
or will be removed from the district
altogether and taken to Wellington for
disposal," she said.
Ms Southey said the council had insisted
that tests be carried out by the owners
to establish the land was safe before the
subdivisions were approved.
"We've got a whole box a mile high
of the investigations," she said.
Tests are carried out at the owner's
expense.
"The council would have never have
given approval for the subdivision unless
we were fully satisfied that everything
that needed to be done was compiled
with," she said.
Steve Ogg, land agent for Harcourts ,who
are marketing the land along with Ray
White Real Estate, said there had been no
inquiries about contamination from
prospective purchasers.
The sections ranging in size from 560sqm
to 760sqm have been on sale for "a
couple of months" said Mr Ogg.
"We're in the throes of getting the
road under way now and all titles for
stage one should be through before
Christmas," he said.
Stage one of the project is on the far
side of the land on the Kaka Street end.
Meanwhile work is continuing on a
Wellington Regional Council mapping
exercise of 320 sites in Wairarapa that
could have been contaminated by
industrial and horticultural toxins.
Council land scientist Bruce Croucher
said the sites had been used as timber
treatment sites, landfills, munitions
dumps, gasworks and underground storage
facilities. The market garden was one of
the 320 sites.
He also said the Greater Wellington
Regional Council has no legal liability
if other toxins are found on the land.
"The council can only make decisions
based on the reports we receive. The
ultimate responsibility lies with the
landowner," he said.
The process for assessing potentially
toxic land started in 2002 and will not
be complete until 2015.
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Saturday, 23 February 2002
Genesis
plans 16 more windmills
By MARTY SHARPE
The seven turbines at the
current Hau Nui windfarm have been
generating electricity since 1996. The
new turbines will not be the same model,
but will look similar. - Picture by LYNDA
FERINGAWAIRARAPA breezes
look set to provide a windfall of
electricity to the region’s power
users, with Genesis planning to extend
the Hau Nui windfarm later this year.
The
electricity retail company plans to build
a further 16 wind turbines on a ridge
south of the existing seven Hau Nui wind
turbines, which are 21km south-east of
Martinborough. Genesis have leased the
land required for the turbines from
Donald, Kenneth, Ross and Susan
Sutherland.
The
company has yet to decide what make and
type of turbines will be used, but have
said they will be of a different design
to the current turbines.
The
turbines, spaced at 70-100metre intervals
along the ridge above Range Road, will
supply up to 35 gigawatt hours of
electricity to the national grid a year
– sufficient to power about 5000
homes – and would normally be used
to supply Wairarapa. If the same amount
of electricity was generated fossil fuel
it would result in about 23,000 tonnes of
carbon dioxide emissions a year.
The 16
turbines may be constructed as one single
development or in several stages. If it
is done in stages the first stage is
likely to see 8 turbines built.
Resource
consent public notification by South
Wairarapa District Council will occur
next week, with a final decision likely
to be made by late-April.
Genesis aims to start building the new
turbines this year, with construction of
all 16 turbines likely to take a year.
In
applying for a resource consent Genesis
has stated the turbines will have little
visual or noise effects, and traffic
interference during construction will be
kept to a minimum. “The perception
of wind farms varies considerably. On the
one hand they can be regarded as
industrial elements detracting from the
natural and tranquil character of rural
landscapes. On the other hand they can
also be seen as sculptural features
adding interest to the landscape,”
the Genesis proposal states.
The
performance of the existing turbines,
erected in 1996, has shown that the site
is world class, with an average wind
speed of 9-10 meters per second, compared
with 6-7 metres a second at the best wind
farm sites in Europe and California.
Cllick here for other stories
relating to Hau Nui Wind Farm.
THE proposed
windfarm, consisting of 16 turbines, 1km
south of the current Hau Nui site. It is
likely to be generating electricity by
mid-2003.
Related Links:
Projects: Hau Nui
Environment
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