Chicago and Joseph take the stage these school holidays

KATE RUSSELL

Two classic musicals are being performed by the Nelson Youth Theatre Company these school holidays, with 120 talented youth set to take the stage at the Theatre Royal. Chicago and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat both start on Monday, 10 July, and run until Saturday, 15 July.

Director Richard Carruthers says they are both musicals they have staged before, but they are always popular with young actors and audiences alike.

“Chicago is always a favourite, an exciting show with beautiful music - very toe-tapping, and it’s a little bit risqué in terms of costuming.”

The older actors of the company will be tackling the fulllength, high school edition of the musical, with around 40 youths in the cast, aged from 12 to 19.

“They are loving it, it’s a good one for them to get their teeth into,” says Richard.

“There is a lot of darkness with themes of murder, adultery, and corruption - so it’s refreshing and exciting for them.”

The storyline follows Roxie Hart, who murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband, Amos, to take the rap - until he finds out he’s been duped and turns on Roxie.

Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another ‘merry murderess’, Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the American Dream - fame, fortune, and acquittal.

Richard says around 80 youths are in the cast for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, ranging in age from five years old to 16.

“They are all having a great time, the volume of sound coming from the stage is huge, they are singing their hearts out.”

Richard says it will be a busy rest of the year for the theatre company.

In September they will be per- forming Legally Blonde, Winnie the Pooh Kids, and Aristocats.

More shows are set to follow in November with The Secret Garden and a Cinderella pantomime. In Easter 2024 they will be staging We Will Rock You.

Chicago and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat are on at the Theatre Royal from 10 - 15 July. Tickets are available from the Theatre Royal. Nelson Weekly has a double pass to give away to Chicago on Monday, 10 July at 6pm. To go in the draw, email your name and contact details to kate@ nelsonweekly.co.nz

THEATRE ROYAL, NELSON

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On 10 June 2023, the Nelson City Council publicly notified Nelson Airport’s application to alter the airport’s existing designations and zoning in the Nelson Resource Management Plan.

The application aims to provide the planning framework needed to support Nelson Airport’s future operationsincluding extending the main runway to the north within the next 10 to 15 years. Submissions on the application close on 10 July 2023.

More information about Project 2-Zero is available on our website, at nelsonairport.co.nz/project-2-zero.

You can also email us directly at enquiries@nelsonairport.co.nz to ask a question.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why is Nelson Airport extending the runway?

A. Nelson Airport has been planning to extend its existing runway for many years. At 1347m, Nelson Airport’s existing runway is among the shortest runways in the world catering for the type of aircraft currently operating at Nelson. Currently, some aircraft operating from Nelson Airport have weight restrictions limiting the number of passengers /freight that they can carry. Significant efforts are also being put into developing sustainably powered aircraft which are likely to be larger and heavier than current aircraft types, meaning a longer runway is needed to support these next generation aircraft. An extended runway at Nelson Airport will:

• Remove existing weight restrictions for aircraft using the runway.

• Ensure sufficient length for future aircraft types, including sustainably powered aircraft.

• Provide runway end safety areas (RESA) at each end of the runway, further enhancing safety at the airport.

Q. Why don’t you extend the runway to the south?

A. We have looked closely at whether a southern extension would be feasible, including commissioning geotechnical, archaeology heritage, landscape and ecological reports. Extending to the south would require reclaiming seabed and would have a range of adverse environmental effects, including on ecological values. On balance, the assessments result in a clear preference for a northern extension.

Q. Why lodge this application now when the extension is still 10 – 15 years away?

A. While the development is still 10 - 15 years away, planning needs to happen now to give the airport, its neighbours and the wider Nelson-Tasman community certainty for the future. The planning application aims to protect and provide for the runway extension by ensuring appropriate land designations and zoning are in place. It’s also important we’re open about what we’re planning so our neighbours and the wider community have certainty about what their current and future airport looks like.

Q. What height restrictions will there be on properties near the airport as a result of this planning application?

A. Our application doesn’t result in any changes to what is currently permitted in the rules applying to a site under the Nelson Resource Management Plan. When the runway is extended in the future, the airport will carry out a survey of any existing obstacles in surrounding areas that may be too high for operations on the new runway.

Q. My property used to be within the noise contours and now it’s not. What does that mean for me?

A. The existing contours were based on a different fleet of aircraft and level of activity that exists today. Updated contours are a more accurate reflection of expected future noise levels generated by the airport out to 2050 (and provide for the impacts of aircraft using an extended runway). The changes we’re proposing will result in some planning controls being placed over properties within the contours. If you are not within the noise contours, you will not be subject to these controls.

Q. Does this mean the airport is going to be generating more noise? Won’t planes be quieter in future?

A. There will be no immediate changes in the noise generated at the airport. These planning changes are to ensure the airport adequately plans for and mitigates future noise. The contours reflect the projected future noise of the reconfigured and fully operational runway out to 2050. The international noise modelling tool used to determine airport noise contours must use existing aircraft for its calculations. As travel demand grows between now and 2050, we anticipate there will be more flights to and from Nelson Airport, resulting in an increase in the average overall noise generated at the airport.

Q. What will the airport do to reduce the impact of airport noise on the community?

A. The airport will undertake annual assessments of flight activity and noise levels to understand the impacts on its neighbours. If noise reaches certain levels at a nearby property, the airport will fund mitigation measures (such as mechanical ventilation and acoustic insultation for eligible existing homes in the residential zone) to help minimise the impact of noise. The airport also has a range of obligations to monitor and manage noise, in order to reduce the impact on surrounding communities as far as practicable.

Q. Why are there fewer properties inside the proposed noise contours when noise is likely to increase over time, and when a longer runway will be built?

A. Since the current operative noise contours were developed, the types of aircraft operating at Nelson Airport have changed. The existing noise contours were based on noisier aircraft that no longer operate here. The updated noise contours have been developed using modern aircraft and projected 2050 aircraft flight activity levels. While the use of modern aircraft has resulted in a general reduction of the noise contours in some areas, the provision for an extended runway has contributed to the expansion of the noise contours in others. The overall effect is a reduction in the number of properties that sit within the contours.

Q. How have you come up with these noise contours?

A. We are required to meet the New Zealand Standard for airport noise (NZS 6805:1992). We must forecast our future activity, which is then entered into best practice, internationally accepted aircraft noise modelling software to predict noise and define noise contours.

Q. Have you taken climate change into account?

A. We are focused on making Nelson Airport as resilient as possible to the effects of all natural events including climate change, while doing our bit to support the aviation industry’s transition to a low-emissions operating model. The changes to our zoning would allow us to establish clean energy production at the airport as a permitted activity, giving us even greater opportunity to contribute to a low-emissions energy future. We’re closely following the updated science, Government and Council guidelines as they become available and these will be incorporated into our planning and decision-making as Project 2-Zero progresses.

Q. Is there someone at the airport I can talk to about how these changes might affect me?

A. Yes. We actively monitor and respond to all enquiries we receive about Project 2-Zero. You can email us at enquiries@nelsonairport.co.nz.