Chris Morris

Promoters of the Scarfie Card initiative, which uses the internet and themed decks of playing cards to promote volunteering in Dunedin, say results of a trial prove the scheme's success.

The Dunedin City Council should rewrite its rules to ensure all new homes are built facing north, into the sun, a city councillor says.

Dunedin city councillor Fliss Butcher has confirmed she will not seek another term, but wants to "shake a few cages" before she goes.

Security guards were called - and police almost followed - after Dunedin city councillor Lee Vandervis barged into a private meeting in Mayor Dave Cull's office and refused to leave.

Safety concerns mean hundreds of ratepayers will have to buy new recycling bins for glass - albeit at a discounted price - to use as part of the Dunedin City Council's kerbside collection system.

There were impassioned pleas and an angry walk-out as debate over the closure of Dunedin's scenic John Wilson Ocean Dr to motorists showed no signs of dying down yesterday.

Work has begun on the second stage of Dunedin's Golden Centre redevelopment, which will transform the mall's food court as part of the multimillion-dollar project.

Debate over the future of John Wilson Ocean Dr in Dunedin was "skewed" by last-minute lobbying by those opposed to seeing vehicles return to the road, a city councillor says.

A proposal to build a network of strategic cycleways through Dunedin - costing up to $30 million - has won initial support from city councillors, and prompted a warning.

South Dunedin's retail area could be in line for a $1 million spruce-up in the next stage of revitalisation work in the suburb.

Volcanic ash pumping from a Chilean volcano has thrown hundreds of passengers' travel plans into disarray at Queenstown and Dunedin airports, and could yet cast a shadow over the Queenstown Winter Festival.

With less than two months to go until completion, crowds are again expected to converge on Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium for today's public open day. Otago Daily Times reporter Chris Morris and photographer Peter McIntosh skipped the queue.

Auckland's deadly gas blast - which claimed the life of a worker - is a "tragic reminder" the same threat could lurk inside Dunedin's Caversham tunnel, a Dunedin City Council manager says.

A last-ditch bid to reopen Dunedin's John Wilson Ocean Dr to vehicles has fallen one vote short, but not before triggering more debate over the road's controversial closure.