Newsletter No.5 2004
Omokoroa goes ahead
Development of one hundred and seventy sections has been approved for the Omokoroa peninsula and opportunities for more intensive development are close.
The cleansing of Omokoroa Beach is the result of a four-year study. The first sign will be a decontaminated foreshore highlighted by the end of regular shellfish bans. On shore, development and subdivisions will soon be able to proceed under new rules and plan changes that will include a sewerage pipeline to Tauranga.
The project manager at Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Charles Turner, says health concerns will drive the plans ahead this time. The Medical Officer of Health has been concerned for many years over the environment and public health issues that have been encountered in Omokoroa.
Central to the plan change is the pipeline to Tauranga. A favourable decision from the Environment Court could see construction underway relatively soon. This will provide a wastewater solution for existing residents and lessen any impact on the environment that future growth would have brought. Long time resident and inaugural Community Board Chairman, Mr Owen Cooney, said “It’s about time.” Mr Cooney moved to the Peninsula in the late forties and ran a 120 head dairy farm before becoming a real estate agent in the area.
The plan changes are all about the quality of life. “I expect to see a commercial centre here and staged development back as far as the railway line. People living here will benefit from what is now a substantial satellite town.”
Part of the vision is being realised with an Environment Court Approval of the Lynley Park development. The first stage will contain one hundred and seventy sections on previously zoned rural land adjoining the railway line.
Surveying Services managed a resource consent process that included substantial consultation with the local community. The Lynley Park development includes provision for on-site sewer treatment until the long awaited community scheme gets the all-clear from the Environmental Court.
New manager welcomed
David Laing has recently joined Surveying Services to manage client's needs through a newly introduced faster service. David is a Licensed and Registered Surveyor and has an extensive working knowledge of the Resource Management Act and Council rules throughout both the urban and rural areas of the Bay of Plenty. This means he can answer all your questions about subdivision. David will also be keeping a watching brief on opportunities and land use changes with Whakatane and other Eastern Bay Councils while working with clients in the Eastern Bay. Customer focus is one of David's strengths and he believes effective communication with a client is of prime importance.
David has recently moved to Papamoa where he is handy to the coastal lifestyle that he enjoys. Most sporting codes get a serious look over when time permits.
Development Rights fuel subdivision
Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) have proved a success for the Western Bay of Plenty District Council. They allow for the introduction of a subdivision credit, which can be sold to others, in exchange for the legal and physical protection of significant natural features.
Ian Boyd, Land Development Advisor at Surveying Services, has seen the results and says it has not only helped regulate subdivision but also preserved a wealth of sensitive environmental treasures.
Since the scheme’s introduction extensive monitoring has been in place to gauge the impact on development. Initially, a subdivision application had to be ‘on the desk’ at the same moment as a TDR covenant was registered on the donor property in a ‘use it or lose it’ approach.
The District Council recently notified an amendment whereby TDRs are now ‘bankable’ and a time period was introduced, allowing a proportion of the rights to be held over for later sale. Mr Boyd said, “The team at Surveying Services had a significant input into the process and are happy with the time extensions granted in the new rules.”
Heritage Park Gift
The recently established Heritage Park in the Papamoa Hills has received an exciting gift of land that includes one of the more significant historical pa sites in the area.
Fulton Hogan’s Poplar Lane Quarry has made a gift of around twelve hectares to the people of the Western Bay. The Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty District Councils together with Environment BOP, recently purchased adjacent land to form an important regional park.
The additional parcel of land will provide a buffer zone between the greater regional park and Fulton Hogan’s Poplar Lane Quarry to the south, explained Arthur Fulton, Aggregates Manager.
“After purchasing the business and considering the resource consents it became apparent the land bordering the park could be left undeveloped,” said Mr Fulton. “The most exciting part was the realisation that the Karangaumu Pa site surrounding the trig on the summit was part of the land being gifted to the park.”
Surveying Services handled the transition, including a Council-commissioned survey of the southern park boundaries. Surveying the site involved climbing the summit at the park. “From here there are breathtaking coastal views from White Island in the Eastern Bay to Coromandel,” said Mr Fulton.
The protection of the Pa site has cultural and historical significance. It is estimated by archaeologists that some of the sites within the park dated around 1500 AD, making them among the oldest in New Zealand.
Surveying to Oscar success
Filmmaker Peter Jackson has redefined the art of the possible with the help of surveyors in his team to produce J.R.R.Tolkien’s trilogy, Lord of the Rings.
The team of technicians at Wellington’s Weta Workshop have taken the digital world of imagery to a new level. Along the way the skill and accuracy found in surveying have been used to blend computer imagery with the real world so they can coincide.
While filming ‘Lord of the Rings’, actors and filmmakers were able to continue on-set while surveyors established laser measurements from a total station set up off-set. Crews found that a few minutes taking measurements actually saved hours of work later in editing.
Actors scrambling up a studio staircase that has been covered with a set of florescent marker tags would later have their action matched to a crumbling mineshaft filmed separately from a miniature model.
The new technology has brought together reality and imagination. Audiences have been treated throughout the trilogy to evocative glimpses of darkly dramatic, awe-inspiring action as the continued struggle between good and evil continues.Surveying Services work with similar technology supplied by Global Survey. This technologically advanced equipment is used when providing you with accurate site maps, building set out or finding boundary pegs on your site.
Robotic Surveying
Upgrading to a fully robotic theodolite means you may not see our surveyors at the tripod any more. Instead we will be commanding it via a radio link from the other end of the line being measured. This upgrade supplements our Fastpegs GPS system enabling us to survey areas where we can't see the stars (sky visibility being a requirement for GPS to operate). A complete one-man survey party is now a reality.
Team Local
The Tauranga building and construction group Team Local was developed to foster partnerships with suppliers to the industry and promote quality and service among companies based in the Bay of Plenty. David Hodgson, speaking for Team Local said Surveying Services were invited to join after being identified as a strong local service provider. They will be the recommended Surveyor and become a valued member expanding the team’s range of suppliers especially in the area of subdivision, building set out and project management.
College landscape change
Having a survey team on site the day the contract was awarded signalled the start of a significant project for Surveying Services. An alarmingly tight timeframe became the norm as work started on remodelling the landscape between the College Grounds and Nicholson Field at Tauranga Boys’ College. Construction and landscaping needed to be completed in the shortest possible timeframe with minimal disruption to College schedules.
A joint venture was established between Surveying Services, engineer Mike Horsley (MCH Limited) and David Clayton-Green (CGC Landscape Company) to bring together a valuable skill base.
“Consultation with College management and Council officers in the first week was critical in moving the project forward quickly,” Brent Trail, Director of Surveying Services noted.
Architect Dennis Pocock’s vision of a smooth flow between school and field, bringing together buildings and school amenities, became a reality with the closure of Tauranga’s 14th Avenue to traffic.
The trunk water and storm water pipes along the line of the old road presented a major obstacle. Decisions on relocation or protection would impact on the total project. A public access with walkway and car parking was a condition of the resource consent to close the road.The resulting work has turned the College around with a fresh southern outlook now uninterrupted across reconstructed sports fields.
“We were employed to bring the project together and make it work,” says Brent. “The college motto gave us added incentive, ‘I take up the work and I carry it through’ - Pergo et Perago.”
Circles among the trees
The rebuilding of the Holy Trinity Church in Tauranga has produced a stunning community inspired complex on the historic Devonport Road site. The John Henderson inspired design has utilised complex circular geometry throughout. An elliptical courtyard flows through into a circular entrance foyer. The eight hundred and eighty seat auditorium rises through the old pohutakawas and pines that surround the site.
Alan Bickers whose company managed the rebuilding project says a precision survey was critical to the complex geometric nature of the plans. Surveying Services were brought in firstly to indicate boundary locations on the historic site where the original church stood for 127 years prior to the devastating fire.
“Building set out was unusual, nothing was square,” noted Brent Trail. The construction method used by Marra Construction needed accuracy in set out to position each column precisely around an elliptical arc. Each panel had to be carefully lifted into a predetermined location.
Alan Bickers said, “walking into the building is breathtaking.” The stunning use of colour ties the past with today. The architects have made extensive use of kauri panels rescued from the ashes of the old church. The Kauri is especially notable in the entrance and on the acoustic panelling throughout the auditorium.
In 1873 the church was the most significant building in Tauranga after the mission station at the Elms and today, on completion, the Holy Trinity complex again captures the public’s attention.
SmartGrowth indicator to major changes
With the district population set to more than double reaching an estimated 290,000 by 2051, it is an appropriate time to look into the future. SmartGrowth has brought the two local Councils together with Environment Bay of Plenty to look at the options. Early indications are that this won't be 'just another report'. SmartGrowth has already made submissions to proposed district plan changes, both in the Western Bay and Tauranga Districts. The depth of research and public consultation undertaken should ensure that their recommendations are influential. Major urban planning changes are currently underway in Omokoroa, Katikati, Bethlehem, Tauriko/Pyes Pa and Eastern Papamoa.
Award for outstanding service
Surveying Services Director, Brent Trail, has recently received an award at the annual conference of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors. The Lex McRae Award recognises outstanding service as a Councillor. Brent was elected to the Institute Council in 1996 and chaired the Public Relations and Publications Committees during his time on the national body.
Auction Raises $18,000
The annual Avalon Art Auction was a huge success for the training centre for the disabled. The recent auction reached a climax when the Auctioneer’s (Dick Hubbard of Hubbard Foods) tie was sold for a tidy sum. Surveying Services were proud to sponsor an artwork and attend the auction.
Support for Team NZ
“Supporting Team New Zealand by donating to the auction at the beginning of the America’s Cup Series was one of the most satisfying decisions we have made,” Brent Trail explains. “The exposure gained us enormous respect and goodwill from suppliers and business friends. The clients who bid at the auction felt good about it. It was a true win/win. The client gained from our advice and we won more new clients just by supporting it“.
