Another section of Clutha Gold trail takes shape
By Helena de Reus, on Thursday 19 July 2012
Otago Daily Times
Work has begun on the Beaumont to Lawrence section of the Clutha Gold Trail.
Trail charitable trust chairman Rod Peirce said SouthRoads staff started building the 15km section from Beaumont to Evans Flat on Monday, while other contractors worked to install bridges between Evans Flat and Lawrence.
Construction of the cycle trail at Beaumont began at the SH8 Clutha River bridge, across the road from the Beaumont Millennium Track.
Mr Peirce said contractors began scraping off topsoil, laying base gravel and putting culverts in place.
"From the bridge to Weardale St we're utilising the road reserve, and then carrying on through the [Beaumont] township, with most of this trail section on private property."
The 73km trail, which will cost an estimated $5.5 million, was the first in Central Otago to receive funding under the New Zealand Cycle Trail project, getting $3.8 million from the Government. A 20km section is planned in the Clutha district, between Beaumont and Lawrence; the remaining 53km will be in Central Otago, from Lake Roxburgh to Beaumont.
The trail section near the Roxburgh Bridge is nearing completion.
Mr Peirce said the 8km section from Evans Flat to Lawrence followed the old railway line from Lawrence to Milton, and track construction was almost complete.
Fencing in this area was done by Lawrence-Tuapeka area residents as a fundraiser for the Tuapeka Aquatic Centre - a project which Mr Peirce said the trust was happy to support.
The Clutha District Council is running workshops designed to help facilitate ideas and identify opportunities for the community arising from the Clutha Gold Trail.
The first workshop was held in November last year, with the fourth due to be held in Lawrence on July 31.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Another Section Of Clutha Gold Trail
Friday, June 22, 2012
Trust Hopes Trail Open By End Of Year
Trust hopes cycle trail completed by end of year
By Helena de Reus, on Friday 22 June 2012
Otago Daily Times
Work on the Clutha district leg of the Clutha Gold Trail will start next week, with the trust behind the cycle trail hopeful the whole trail will be completed by the end of the year.
Clutha Gold Charitable Trust chairman Rod Peirce said contractors would start work at Beaumont, finishing at Cockleshell Rd in the Evans Flat area near Lawrence.
SouthRoads won the contract for that section of the trail, with Waitahuna-based Homer Contracting due to work on the Evans Flat to Lawrence section later in the year.
Trail project manager Tim Dennis, of Southern Land CKL, said SouthRoads staff were due to begin construction of the trail next week on the 15km section from Beaumont to Evans Flat.
The 73km trail, which will cost an estimated $5.5 million, was the first in Central Otago to receive funding under the New Zealand Cycle Trail project, with $3.8 million from the Government.
A 20km section is planned in the Clutha district, between Beaumont and Lawrence, and the remaining 53km will be in Central Otago, from Lake Roxburgh to Beaumont.
The trail is being constructed in six sections.
Stage one from Roxburgh Dam to Roxburgh was "virtually concluded", but awaiting the construction of two bridges.
Mr Peirce said workers had reached Millers Flat, with work on the next stage between Millers Flat and the Millennium Track in the Beaumont Gorge due to begin in a few weeks.
"Progress is going quite well. We'd like to think it would be finished by the end of the year, or at least the beginning of next year. Either way, some of the trail should be open for the summer."
The trust had hoped to begin work on the trail last year, but was unable to do so as contractors were not available any earlier.
The Clutha District Council is running workshops designed to help facilitate ideas and identify opportunities for the community arising from the Clutha Gold Trail.
The first workshop was held in November last year, with the third held on Tuesday night.
Council development manager Jill Borland said the council wanted a forum to help create ideas and identify opportunities for the local community arising from the Clutha Gold Trail.
The public "Trail Opportunities Forum" aimed to identify those with an interest in the trail development and establish a mode of communication.
She hoped it would also identify community resources, skills and interests to maximise potential trail-related opportunities.
Two more workshops have been planned for July 31, and August 14.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Bridges' Future Unaffected
Bridges' future unaffected
By Helena de Reus, on Friday 4 May 2012
Otago Daily Times
Contact Energy's recent announcement it is shelving plans for further development on the Clutha River will not affect the future of two Clutha bridges.
The 124-year-old bridge at Beaumont and the Clydevale Bridge, both one-lane bridges which span the Clutha River, are scheduled for replacement or upgrading.
Earlier this week, Contact Energy announced it had withdrawn plans for further hydro development on the Clutha River and it would review management and ownership of its land holdings near the river.
A search of property records by Clutha District Council staff showed Contact Energy held 37 properties in the Clutha district totalling 2989ha and with a capital value of $26.3 million (figures from 2008). It is unclear how much of this property was earmarked for use in potential dam projects at Beaumont and Tuapeka Mouth.
New Zealand Transport Agency acting Otago-Southland state highways manager Ian Duncan said Contact Energy's recent announcement it was shelving plans for the Clutha River would not make the replacement bridge at Beaumont a higher priority.
Mr Duncan said the agency was still looking at building a new bridge at Beaumont in the 2017-18 financial year. Investigation work was scheduled to begin by 2014.
The Beaumont Bridge is funded solely by the NZTA.
Clutha District Council district assets manager Jules Witt said the Clydevale Bridge already had "reasonably high priority" with the Otago Regional Transport Committee and he did not believe the bridge would have been affected even if Contact Energy's developments had gone ahead.
Last year the Clutha District Council decided to upgrade the Clydevale Bridge to class 1 load capacity. Strengthening the bridge to class 1 would cost about $974,000. The council's share was estimated to be $390,000. NZTA would foot the remainder of the bill. The decision whether to build a new bridge would be reconsidered in 20 years.
Mr Witt said the council had budgeted for the strengthening and repairs in the 2012-13 financial year.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Call For Ethical Repatriation Of Land
Call for ethical repatriation of land
By Marjorie Cook, on Thursday 3 May 2012
Otago Daily Times
Contact Energy's review of its Clutha River land bank has sparked calls for the electricity generator to be a "responsible corporate citizen" and repatriate land ethically, while securing critical public access easements.
Contact Energy confirmed this week it had withdrawn plans for further dams on the river and would include its land holdings in a review of its $100 million national property portfolio.
Contact group communications manager Janet Carson yesterday declined to comment on the value and size of the Clutha portfolio, but confirmed "all the land was inherited" from Electricity Corporation of New Zealand and "includes parcels in the Clutha, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes regions".
The holdings would be "sold as appropriate over time" and there was no end date for concluding the process, Ms Carson said.
The Otago Daily Times understands Contact Energy owns 95 properties in the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes districts and another 40 in the Clutha district.
They include everything from farms to town sections.
It is also understood some of Contact Energy's larger properties around Beaumont are in discussion and valuation for sale back to farmers, while smaller properties nearer the waterline are believed not to be on the market.
Clutha River Forum co-ordinator Lewis Verduyn, of Wanaka, said yesterday the land bank review "has the potential to become a highly contentious issue" and warned how Contact proceeded could "stir up further resistance, or calm the waters".
"Much of the approximately 4400ha of land held by Contact along the Clutha was seized in the 1980s and some has subsequently been leased or rented back to the original owners, who have been subjected to a considerable cost.
"These people were literally made tenants on their own land, and they could now be shafted again if Contact opts for a quick capital sell-off.
"Long-term tenants are in a similar situation, having invested in their leased properties, while for many years their corporate landlord ignored them.
"But Contact could also act as a responsible corporate citizen by building community relations through the ethical repatriation of land.
"The occupants of this land, including farmers, should be able to purchase it on fair terms that acknowledge their investment in it.
"Such terms should include the option to purchase on a lease-to-own basis, with consideration given to the significant moneys already paid.
"Much of the Contact land within the river corridor is also critical to public access and should be vested in the conservation estate to be managed by Doc, along with adjoining public conservation lands.
"This would add considerable surety to the viability and success of river trails presently being constructed by community groups.
"All this could be done while retaining rights for future hydro development, though I can't envisage that happening," Mr Verduyn said.
Upper Clutha Tracks Trust chairman Tim Dennis, of Wanaka, said yesterday Contact Energy had supported the trust's projects and provided access easements.
It was now time for anyone with informal public access across Contact Energy's land to "shore up" those easements, he said.
"But I can't imagine they will get rid of their land any time soon.
"They might decide they want to hold on to it for another 10 to 20 years.
"The consenting environment might change, the energy demand might change.
Once it is sold, it will be hard to get it back," Mr Dennis said.
Otago Federated Farmers president Mike Lord, of Outram, said farmers would be "waiting with interest" to see what Contact would do.
"These things can take quite a bit of time and it is not going to be a quick process.
"A lot of that land is leased out and not all the leases will expire tomorrow.
"It is an opportunity for those lessees to be able to buy in, too," Mr Lord said.
Former landowners who felt squeezed off the land might now feel some bitterness and it might well be that land could be offered back to those people, he said.
Other options might include selling the entire Clutha portfolio at once to another power generator, such as Meridian, entering into sale agreements with lessees, putting the land on the open market or offering it in a ballot, he said.
"If I was Contact, I would be looking for the best value that I could. I would be looking at all the different options," Mr Lord said.
Mr Lord said it would be prudent for Contact Energy to finalise access easements before selling the land, to avoid problems down the track.
