David Loughrey

The Dunedin City Council has accepted its building consent fees are higher than those of other areas, and is promising to deal with the problem.

Dunedin city councillor Fliss Butcher says a "serious breakdown" is behind her decision to cut back on the amount of council work she has undertaken - including attending fewer council meetings - since last year's elections.

A Dunedin City Council facing unpopular rates rises, and fresh from election promises of financial prudence, will tomorrow start discussing a staff report that has identified $794,300 of cuts for the next financial year.

A business "matchmaking" initiative is one way organisers hope to make the most of influential business executives travelling to Dunedin for the Rugby World Cup.

Opposition to shark nets in Dunedin has been a surprise at the annual plan hearings, with 157 submissions on a subject that has only recently been raised.

The first of many submissions on John Wilson Ocean Dr came before the Dunedin City Council hearings committee yesterday morning, with Colleen and Arthur Linnell, of Kew, arguing the road should be kept the way it was - closed.

There were no gauges at the Fullwood Room to check for climate changes during debate on Dunedin's annual plan yesterday.

Dunedin's annual plan hearings have a recent but illustrious history of members of the public using props to more strongly make their point.

Former Stop the Stadium president Bev Butler has proposed the Dunedin City Council employ someone with no Dunedin connections and no potential conflicts of interest to investigate ways to reduce Dunedin's debt burden.

A group of hospitality and tourism industry figures has attracted widespread backing for its call for funding to upgrade the Dunedin City Council-operated Careys Bay pontoon.

The newly repaired guard rails at the Esplanade in St Clair - which will cost $347,000 - will be properly maintained and should last a quarter of a century, the Dunedin City Council says.

Workers fit exterior lights to the Dunedin Municipal Chambers as part of the building's redevelopment.

The Dunedin City Council has offered 85 free parking spaces as a sweetener for commuters put out by roadworks in Anzac Ave.

If a week is a long time in politics, six months may seem like an eternity to the five Otago mayors who ended up in charge after last October's local government elections.

Just five months from the Rugby World Cup, Dunedin faces a formidable planning challenge, not least working out how to host an estimated more than 15,000 supporters before and after matches.