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A Nelson couple stranded out in the cold by wood stove restrictions face a $ 30,000 bill to find an alternative heat source for their home.
For the past year, Marc and Talya Horrocks have been fighting with the Nelson City Council to resolve a dispute over their fireplace at their home in Nelson South. They are urging the council to reconsider its restrictions on wood burners in the area.
After purchasing their home in August 2017, the couple said they had been sent council records showing their fireplace was registered and permitted.
However, two years later, after a visit from environmental services, they were told that the fire was not legal and received a mitigation notice a week later, while Talya Horrocks recovered from major surgery.
Under current air basin rules for the Toi Toi / Washington Valley / Bishopdale area, closed burners installed between 1996 and 1999 can no longer be used or replaced. The Horrocks wood stove was installed in 1996.
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When the rules were passed in 2010, homeowners were given until 2012 to replace their old wood stoves with cleaner-burning models.
What made matters worse for the Horrocks was the potential cost of replacing their current wood stove with a heat pump or radiator.
The Horrocks live in an unconventional home, a heritage site that was originally built as the Nelson South Methodist Church and later incorporated as part of Nelson Hospital.
Braden Fastier / Stuff
Health issues meant that the Horrocks continued to use their fire throughout the winter, just to keep warm.
While an ordinary house may require 6-10 kW to heat, with its nearly twenty-foot high ceilings, the restored church building requires 22 kW or more.
Marc Horrocks said that installing most alternative options, such as heat pumps or radiators, would cost at least $ 30,000, and about $ 1,000 per week during the cold winter months.
Talya Horrocks said they had tried working with the council to find a solution, but what was expected was too much.
“We care about the environment, we want to do the right thing, but a $ 30,000 radiator option that will cover all surfaces in our home is not an option for us.”
Marc said the rules looked like “bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy.”
“It is surely a legal and moral right in New Zealand to be warm in your own home.
“I don’t see why the law is the way it is? We would have been able to replace it if it was before a certain date, so there was a time when we might be able to replace it, so what’s the problem with replacing it now?
Talya Horrocks said they had adhered to the council’s requirements regarding ceiling and floor insulation, a moisture membrane and thermal curtains, but they still needed a heat source.
He said that throughout the winter they felt they had no choice but to ignore the gloom warning and continue using the fire, especially since he was recovering from a traumatic operation and was unable to work.
Nelson City Hall
The current boundaries of Nelson City Council Air Shed A in Nelson South. Historically it has had the worst air quality in Nelson.
“At the time we were treated, I was six weeks after a double mastectomy and reconstruction … that surgery was not a success, I have chronic fatigue, chronic pain, many health problems and I had to give up my job.
“Waiting for another surgery, if that is delayed due to Covid and I end up having another very important surgery in the middle of winter, I need to be warm, that’s what it comes down to.”
Nelson City Councilman Tim Skinner said that while he fully supported the Horrocks, the only solution would be to amend the air basin rules through the new Nelson Plan.
Beginning in 2014, Skinner successfully lobbied for wood burner restrictions to be relaxed in other air basins around Nelson, and to allow old wood burners to be replaced by low-emission models.
“It hurts because I don’t see how we can fix this right now, but what I would be pushing is for a change of boundaries,” Skinner said.
“To be honest, no other council in New Zealand would dare to allow their community to heat their homes with clean stoves – this is one of the few.”
Braden Fastier / Stuff
Nelson City Councilman Tim Skinner said it was a “no-brainer” that the city council should allow the use of low-emission wood burners in the city.
Skinner said that for Airshed A in particular, the restrictions were maintained due to possible construction of the Southern Link in the area, as well as concerns about lack of air movement in the Victory Square area.
“We have achieved incredibly good air quality for Nelson in this area with low emission wood burning stoves.
“I think it’s a no-brainer; I hope the council will reexamine it and that we will give a new council a chance to understand the situation.”
Public consultation on the Draft Nelson Plan is currently open and will close on December 6.
Nelson City Council will hold a final public information session at the Nelson Market on Saturday, November 28, from 8 am to 1:30 pm.
