To those who have been involved with Friends of the Maitai for many years, those who attended our recent meeting on the proposed development in the valley and those who have asked to join our mailing list because of concern about the proposal – thank you for your interest. We met today to clarify our position and share this with you.
Friends of the Maitai’s primary concern is for a clean clear flowing Maitai River.
Our role is to keep a critical eye on all activities in the catchment, and to ensure all outcomes on the health of the river are positive.
More information is needed regarding the proposed Maitahi development, we are concerned at the lack of information on a range of issues. We therefore call for detailed impact reports on:
Traffic and roading infrastructure.
The recreational amenity of the Maitai Valley, the river and on Dennes Hole in particular.
The ability of local schools to cope with roll growth and other social impacts.
Should the development proceed we need assurance that the health of the river would not be compromised in any way from sediment, nutrients or storm water runoff during the construction process and beyond.
While the developers have talked of eco-housing, there is no detail on their understanding of this. For example would there be solar power, water-collection tanks, a range of housing options, shared green/garden areas, policies on use of vehicles.
Zone Change
We believe the change of zoning to allow the proposed Maitahi development to proceed must be notified, given the level of public interest. We call on the Nelson City Council to ensure that the public have an opportunity for input.
New action group Save the Kaka valley
We encourage people who feel strongly about the proposed development to follow the new action group who have started theSave the Maitai Kaka Valley facebook page. This has information about their coming meeting at: 7pm, Tuesday 7 July at the Prince Albert.
Get involved!
We encourage all Friends of the Maitai to become involved in our activities – these include plant care, water monitoring, liaising with the forestry sector and with the Nelson City Council.
Covid recovery funding boost
Nelson City Council has been successful in its bid to the Jobs for Nature projects fund, receiving funding of $1.7 million to implement an Ecological Restoration Plan for the Maitai - Mahitahi River catchment ecosystem.
Jobs for Nature is a program of work administered by the Ministry for the Environment, which seeks to address major environmental needs and create employment to stimulate New Zealand’s post-Covid economy.
The intended outcomes of the Restoration Plan include:
Enhanced water quality
Reduction in weeds that will help to reduce the spread of invasive plant species across a wider area
Habitat improvement
Preservation of indigenous tree and plant species, some of which are found only in the Maitai / Mahitahi Valley
Development of a food corridor that will support movement of native bird species across the Nelson region, from the mountains to the sea.
Mayor Rachel Reese says the funding will support the continued restoration of the treasured river, at the same time as creating 30 jobs in the conservation/restoration sector over 5 years: “The Maitai / Mahitahi River flows through the lives of Nelsonians – it is entwined with who we are and how we live in this city. What could be better than the people of Nelson working on a project to give this beautiful river even greater care and attention.”
Donations welcome
Our website can now accept donations for those who would like to make a monetary donation towards the work being done by the Friends of the Maitai. The donation application is located in the How To Help page found at http://friendsofthemaitai.org.nz/how-to-help/. The donations are administered by Give A Little who take no commission and supply receipts to donors.
