Chris Morris

Markets, public art, small parks and plantings, new lighting and paving are envisaged in plans for Dunedin's heritage warehouse precinct as Chris Morris reports.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull emerged with little to say after a key meeting on the restructuring of governance arrangements for the Dunedin City Council's companies yesterday.

A $9 million write-down in Delta's investments - including property at Jacks Point and Luggate - is partly to blame for a multimillion-dollar loss booked by the Dunedin City Council's group of companies.

Dunedin businessmen say jobs will be on the line after an audiovisual contract at Forsyth Barr Stadium was awarded to a recently formed, out-of-town company with links to a former Australian bankrupt.

The Highlanders could be kicked for touch, and the company running the Forsyth Barr Stadium left out of pocket, if Dunedin secures a share of hosting rights for the Fifa under-20 World Cup in 2015.

Former Otago Museum chief executive Shimrath Paul is believed to have received nearly $700,000 in various contractual entitlements and back payments when he recently left the museum.

Dunedin city councillors are pointing fingers after some were blindsided by a $3.2 million loss by the company running Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Ratepayers could be asked to reach into their pockets again, or the city's bars and restaurants could be slapped with a new targeted rate, as the Dunedin City Council grapples with a $3.2 million loss from Forsyth Barr Stadium.

The sale of Carisbrook is at "the contractual stage" as the Dunedin City Council looks to conclude negotiations with a buyer, city property manager Robert Clark says.

More than 400 people have had their say on the future use of Forsyth Barr Stadium as a deadline for public input approaches.

Business owners in Dunedin have been floored by the idea of a new targeted rate for the hospitality sector to help rescue Forsyth Barr Stadium from its financial hole.

The manager of the Dunedin City Council's economic development unit says it was a "hard call" to resign just as the city embarks on a new push to improve its financial fortunes.

It's small, it's punchy, and it's coming to your letterbox.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says the Forsyth Barr Stadium's finances are "not sustainable", after confirmation the company running the venue lost nearly $1 million more than expected in its first year of operation.

Sparks flew as Mayor Dave Cull and Cr Lee Vandervis clashed repeatedly over debt and dividends at yesterday's Dunedin City Council meeting.

The Dunedin City Council and its companies are about to reach the top of a $600 million debt mountain and start down the other side.

Shedding staff cost the Dunedin City Council more than $600,000 in the past year, and more than half the money went to two senior managers.

A pair of national heavy-hitters are among four new directors recruited to help guide the Dunedin City Council's companies.