nemo
1 Min Read

Talk about a NewsFlash ! Wow – the Shelly Bay development, that no-one seemed to like or want, has just been cancelled. Not postponed, or sidelined, or put on the backburner for a while – the developer Ian Cassells has sold the site to everyone’s favourite hobbit, Lord Jackson of Underhill. No, seriously folks, that is big news, and I think probably also fantastic news as…

nemo
4 Min Read

(Updated – see more info at end of post). In a recent news story on The Post, which may not have appeared on the Stuff, there was an article on a proposed new building on Customhouse Quay in Wellington. You may (or may not) have seen it, as Post seems to be splitting / abandoning Stuff, as their two websites now become very different beasts –…

nemo
1 Min Read

In the news today, the Post reports that Kapiti Council have agreed on new Density rules for their larger urban areas. That will mean that Paraparaumu will heavily densify in the centre, while Waikanae and Paekakariki will be allowed to densify to slightly lower heights. I imagine that this will cause quite a ruckus. “The new changes mean buildings up to 15 storeys would be enabled…

nemo
7 Min Read

Sad news, but not entirely unexpected. Friedrich (Fritz) Eisenhofer has passed away, at the splendid ripe old age of 96. NZIA has sent out a small note of his funeral, but to be honest he deserves a bloody great big obituary – and probably a book as well – and I’m probably not the person to do this. Many of you will have known him better…

nemo
3 Min Read

I’m all in favour of cycleways – they are a great addition to the city, and may even allow me one day to ride a bike in Wellington again. It is a process that is long overdue, although many car-driving persons are up in arms, as this delivery of cycleways is also going hand in hand with the abolition of some on-road car parks. Bound to…

nemo
3 Min Read

Right now Wellington is undergoing hearings on what may be the most important discussions on the future – the Hearings on the proposed new District Plan. There have been a number of these Hearings, which have looked at General District Plan matters, Suburban matters, Heritage aspects, and in the current hearing, the City Centres. The outcome from these Hearings will affect the city looks, works and…

0
3
nemo
3 Min Read

A timely and interesting post from the WCC, showing a list of relevant accommodation providers, that may or may not have issues similar to the Loafer’s Lodge, which, as we all know, tragically burnt down and killed people. No one wants a repeat of that sordid mess, and so the great thing is that the WCC are being pro-active and trying to get ahead of the…

nemo
5 Min Read

There’s a depressing familiarity with the news of the destruction by fire of the sawtooth roofed buildings at Shelly Bay. It is the classic “accident” that so often happens to heritage buildings – the building is carefully preserved for years, the building gradually deteriorates, and just when something was going to be done, the building mysteriously burns down. Except in this case, perhaps not quite so…

4
4
nemo
4 Min Read

No more Queen’s Birthday honours, but instead we have the King’s Birthday honour’s list, which seems almost more anachronistic. It starts off both thoroughly well-deserved, with Jacinda Adern getting a top gong (Dame Grand Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit) for her having to put up with all the shit that the world threw at her in just four or five years, including Earthquake,…

nemo
4 Min Read

When is a MDRS not a MDRS? When Christopher Luxon agrees to it, and then disagrees to it, it seems. What am I talking about, I hear you say? Well, the MDRS (medium density residential standards), universally agreed to last year by both Labour AND National (AND the Greens and ACT too I think?) – that one, that only just came into being a short while…