Stage II Consent has been granted

We are very pleased and excited to announce that after more than four years of planning and working with Tasman District Council (TDC) Atamai has today received resource consent for stage II of the village development. This is the main stage in terms of number of households and as such is a major milestone for the village creation.

This means that there are now no legal or planning impediments for the main part of Atamai to become a reality within a relatively short period of time. Stage II will also fund the start of the work on the village center. In addition, it not only allows more titles but also designates the main space of the village as a car free environment.

From all the many aspects covered below you will gather that there is a huge amount of activity happening on site and around the project and it is very pleasing to see some major building and earthworks projects come to completion. With every one of these steps the village is changing from something that one can imagine to something real and visible. This is particularly satisfying for everyone putting their shoulders to the wheels as the deteriorating state of the world around us seems to be giving us clear messages to get on with our project of creating a sustainable future together, or as our mission statement puts it, to create a foundation for living a safe, sane and meaningful life.

The land

La Nina is proving to be her usual dry and hot self. In spite of the big downpours we had earli

er the land has now dried out considerably. All the more important to see a new pond being completed as a reservoir for the community garden. The main pond on the North block is also being deepened to allow for a nearly 250% increase in water storage. Our artesian springs have not dried out even in this hot summer which bodes well.

Food production has been pushed up another notch and there are plenty of summer vegetables available, food distribution is much more organised and the first year of row crop harvests is coming up. The paddocks are in good shape in spite of the hot weather. The contractor mowing for us claimed our grass to have been ‘the best in the valley’ this year. The organic management must be doing its job.

Some of the newly planted trees need a bit more care due to the lack of rain and we are all looking forward to the coolness of autumn and some higher moisture levels.

Village Development Process

Stage II entails the creation of 26 new titles and brings the total number of Atamai titles to 42. Stage II completes the entire periphery of the village. With the RMA in place all parties interested in purchasing a title in stage II are now able to enter into a Sales and Purchase agreement with the trust.

Implementation of stage II will start right away. The earthworks are scheduled to begin next month. Work on constructing the access road and the car park at the entrance of the village for stage II will commence in March and we hope to have it completed by July.

Planning on stage III, the denser village core has commenced with some vigour. The goal is to have the design complete by August ready for filing with TDC. A lot of architectural, engineering, town planning and permaculture planning work has to be done in the next months. We hope to publish artist’s impressions of the space(s) over the next months.

Building projects & Sections

This summer has seen a huge number of visits from interested parties and enquiries continue to come in. The last few weeks have also seen a good number of households commit to being part of Atamai Village. New households from the USA, Waiheke Island (Auckland), Motueka and Australia have all committed to a section in stage II. All of you will be particularly pleased to see this stage approved by council now.

Craig and Tracey have shifted to Lot 1 in stage II and Lot 4 is now available for anyone looking for not only for magnificent views but also for a ‘ready to go’ section with all earthworks complete.

Lots’ 9 & 10 of stage one are now ready for issue with a final inspection scheduled for tomorrow. These are Graeme and Kath’s and Jurgen & Kyoko’s lots.

Jack and Joanna’s house is looking stunning now that it is nearing completion. The next building projects for the construction team will be ready by the time the first house is complete.

Village community

Our group attending the village council meetings is growing rapidly in size, groundbreaking decisions are being made and meetings are scheduled regularly to pick up the pace of the community taking over responsibility for land and operations from the developer, Sustainable Villages.

Many new households (including 3 more children) have joined in the last weeks and there are quite a few more poised to make a decision soon.

Sue Connor, with her professional barrister training is currently preparing a dossier of all the legal documents associated with the property purchases. She is approaching them very much from the perspective of an actual purchaser but is aiming to do a lot of ground work on behalf of everyone who will need to go through the conveyance process with their own and our lawyers. This should be of great help to all parties who will have to settle sales in the next few months.

Business Opportunities

Tim Ussher has temporarily joined the Sustainable Villages crew working on the village implementation. His goal is to set up the Atamai landscaping and maintenance business as a village operated business within a few months. Work on the commons and Jurgen and Kyoko’s Japanese garden and Jack and Joanna’s landscape design implementation will see him busy until other households will call on his expertise. Tim has worked for two years in Switzerland for a landscaping business and has a degree in environmental management.

Atamai is still very keen to hear from any party interested in the joinery or accounting trade, business development managers, entrepreneurs for the terra preta, Brick production, forestry product business.

Organisational Changes

Atamai Village Council, the incorporated society that will govern and own the commons has now got elected officers (Craig as Chairperson and Joanna as Secretary/Treasurer). Work on transferring the first area of commons to the village council is nearing completion and an announcement can be expected soon.

The independent food coop society is also being brought up to an operational state since a few more parties are going
to join the 6 households on site now.

Earthworks

Earthworks for lots 9 and 10, as well as the large community garden areas, more fruit tree terraces, and a new garden pond are now complete. The landscape turned out not only very beautiful but also optimised for permaculture land use with a good number of ideal food production areas. Tasman District Council are again extremely happy with the quality of work our engineers, contractors and implementation crew have delivered!

Tree planting beautification has already started on the commons and Jurgen and Kyoko’s section and Graeme and Kath are keen to make some good progress on their lot in the upcoming planting season.

The next job for the contractor is to get the section earthworks for Lot’s 6-8 and a utility building platform for Wulf complete.