Andrew.Stewart Ltd Newsletter
Hi Andrew.Stewart Subscriber,
Welcome to the Andrew.Stewart Ltd Newsletter.
In this issue we have updates on Andrew.Stewart projects and events, news commentary, as well as news from our partner companies within Andrew.Stewart Holdings. |
Andrew.Stewart Ltd, Proud Exhibitors at EcoDay 2009
EcoDay 2009 was a huge success with over 5000 people flocking to Olympic Park in New Lynn on Sunday 8 March for the event, now in its 7th year. The
free community festival, held in March of each year, included an Eco Expo featuring over 75 stallholders promoting environmentally friendly products
and services as well as local, regional and national environmental and advocacy groups.
Andrew.Stewart is pleased to have had the
opportunity to participate in such a worthwhile event. "Our emphasis is always on developing trusted relationships with both clients and
suppliers, and with that in mind sustainability and community presence are high on our list" says senior environmental consultant Renate Schutte.
Fellow exhibitor, environmental engineer Gareth Williams also notes: "despite the large scale of many ASL Projects, no job is too small and it
was great to connect with like-minded members of the environmental community, we look forward to seeing everyone next year ".
Congratulations to the lucky winners of the wine draw: - Jean McGinley, Design and Drafting Services
- Eugenie Dervin,
New Zealand Retail Property Institute
- Johann van Western, Unitec
To read more about EcoDay online, click here. |
 |
Waitakere City Council Project Twin Streams Cycleways
The multi award winning Waitakere City Council Cycleway and Walkway Network Project Cycleways Project commenced mid 2005 and are part of the overall
Project Twin Streams (PTS) initiative. PTS sought to restore and revegetate local streams in the Henderson and Swanson catchments, working alongside
local residents.
Andrew Stewart worked closely with Waitakere City Council to secure the necessary consents and made significant
headways in helping to achieve this goal.
One of the key successes of the project has been the level of communication and reporting with
the client. The project team met on a weekly basis and report on a number of aspects relating to the project raised by design, changes to the design,
constructability, contracting requirements and limitations, budgeting and consenting. Due to the size and duration of the project, the regular
meetings have provided the project team with a transparent understanding of roles and inputs through deliberation and open forum communication.
To read more about Project Twin Streams Cycleways click here. |
 |
NZ Communications Ltd Celebrate 250th Cell Site
Work has been underway for over two years to offer a fresh alternative to Kiwi mobile phone users. A leading edge network is currently being
constructed in the main centres across New Zealand and the service that will provide this new alternative is under development as you read this.
Where it is erecting its own cell sites, NZ Communications Ltd (NZ Comms) have had plenty of resource consent frustrations, and construction
projects have been tough to get off the ground. Now with the help of Andrew.Stewart Ltd, NZ Comms have just recently celebrated the erection of their
250th cell site nationwide.
To find out more about Andrew.Stewarts' involvement with NZ Comms, click here. |
 |
Auckland City Council SLIPS Project: Bonnie Brae Playground
A new playground has been built at Bonnie Brae Reserve, Meadowbank. The play area is partially shaded by a pohutukawa and includes a climbing wall,
two slides and three swings. The consent acquisition work was undertaken by environmental consultancy Andrew.Stewart Ltd as part of their ongoing
engagement with Auckland City Council and Small Local Improvement Projects (SLIPS).
The playground has the added benefit of easy access
for parents with prams thanks to a new pathway starting at MacPherson Street. Andrew.Stewart Ltd Environmental Planner, Ofeira Faasau says
“seeing the finished product in use makes obtaining the consent for this playground all the more satisfying”.
To keep up to
date on the latest SLIPS projects as Andrew.Stewart Ltd complete them, click here. |
RMA Reforms Picking Up Pace
(Excerpt from Envirolink Reforms Picking Up Pace, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts)
The report of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the
government has been released and makes interesting reading. It not only provides additional justification for changes proposed in the Bill, but it
also identifies the direction of the TAG would like to take in Phase Two of the RMA reforms.
The report also includes a collection of
interesting statistics. The TAG logically connects inconsistent enforcement levels throughout the country to poor funding for compliance
monitoring. Further, only 50% of publicly notified applications are processed within the statutory time frames, and 40% of all applications are
subject to s92 requests. None of these are surprising. The question is how will the reforms address these problems?
Ideas
floated by the TAG for Phase Two of the RMA reforms include: - Regulation by central government to ensure further consistency between
plans
- Mandatory co-operation in preparing joint planning documents between councils
- Examining the benefit of section 32 analysis
required as part of plan making
- Enabling wider approvals to be granted, such as "concept approvals" and "project related"
approvals for requiring authorities instead of solely landuse consents
- Prescribing quantitative standards for cumulative
effects
- Sensitivity considering any possible refinements to the definition of environment, being careful not to "throw the baby out with
the bathwater", and
- Revising the role of regional councils. The TAG questions if they are needed at all. Could those powers
be split with the newly reformed Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and local authorities? Between the TAG report and comments from Rodney
Hide, it wouldn't be surprising if the Royal Commission report on Auckland local governance is used for wider reforms of the Local Government
Act.
To read the rest of this article, click here. |
Andrew.Stewart Group Update
Carbon Group welcomes Guardian Healthcare - a BUPA company, as a new client and congratulates them on
working towards a low carbon future.
CS-VUE also welcomes Landcorp, Queensland Water Infrastructure,
and Envirowaste to the CS-VUE community. |
Feedback and Comments
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, we hope you have found it both interesting and informative.
If you have any
suggestions of what you would like to see in future, or if you would like to contribute, please feel free to contact Rebecca
Barclay. |