Ugly, derelict street no surprise to me
Several George St shops are now empty and the livelihoods of many business people and their workers have been ruined.
Commercial property valuer Adam Binns said "a mix of general economic conditions, a possible move to online retailing" and "maybe, to some extent the roadworks taking place in George St" were to blame for the spike (ODT 24.6.24) of empty shops.
It should have been obvious to town planners, consultants and other temporary leaders that Covid lockdowns, online shopping and economic conditions had been affecting almost all retail areas prior to this ridiculous George St project being planned. Dunedin retailers and most businesses (except supermarkets) had been badly affected and many businesses were already struggling.
This totally unwise CBD project should have been binned from the outset. Infrastructure, pipes and unsafe footpaths required upgrading but it was obvious that this huge project was not a popular one for our already beautiful Edinburgh of the South. The style would never suit our heritage image and the timing was diabolical.
Instead of listening to the people those (who thought they knew best) forged ahead employing expensive out-of-town planners, consultants and workers to ensure that this $105 million disaster was completed. Most empty shops are now looking so ugly and derelict and the almost deserted streets and shops are so depressing for the retailers, commercial landlords, shoppers, residents and motorists — in fact it is depressing for everyone except a few don’t care or uninformed people.
From now on we must all band together to support our local retailers and provide ideas of how we can return Dunedin to an attractive, bustling city.
Hopefully this time the temporary leaders will listen.
Carbon aspirations
Well put ODT: at long last it has spelled out practical carbon savings in house builds (Inside Out 21.6.24) to cut climate change. Apart from using the latest technology in heating systems, it is the materials used that are a major factor for the low CO₂ emissions.
Congratulations to the architects and designers involved. Cutting CO₂ tonnage down to under 40t from over 100t during an estimated 90-year lifespan of a normal house build is a big factor mitigating climate change.
Carbon retention and low footprint in manufacture will be due to the use of wood-based materials for house construction, such as engineered timber beams, flooring, particle board and cladding, that contribute the biggest percentage of carbon savings.
This is not rocket science. Most products are manufactured within New Zealand from our forestry resources, including heat energy. Cutting down on steel and concrete is also big savings in CO₂ emissions.
How the hell?
It beggars belief how we can put a man on the moon, track down Osama bin Laden and find Saddam Hussein, but after two and a-half years we can’t find a father and three children in a few acres of bush.
Turn back time
In response to the comments of Kevin Masc (Letters ODT 20.6.24) blaming Labour, I would add it goes further back than that. I am surprised nobody has commented on the fact that National, who were in power for the nine years previous sat, on their hands back then. If they had not done so then the hospital would be up and running now.
What are this out of control council up to?
Your article headlined "Labour market in its favour, ORC says" (ODT 24.6.24) goes on to state that there were 351 staff in the council and 25 vacancies, and that in the second quarter of this year 36 jobs were advertised and 31 successfully filled.
In view of the 16% rate rise and inflation at 4%, one questions why are all these extra staff necessary and what exactly are they doing in this seemingly "out of control council"?
At a meeting last year attended by several councillors, including Gretchen Robertson, an assurance was given that 2023-24 would be the last time there would be such a large rates increase and yet here they go again. Presumably some of the increase was deemed necessary to fund the payroll for these excessive staff numbers?
It is time to start taking note of councillors supporting these large increases so that they can be removed at the next local body elections.
Differing approaches
When the Covid pandemic hit in 2020 the Ardern government made two significant decisions — to listen to and act on the advice of medical experts and to borrow money to keep the nation’s businesses functioning and people employed.
In 2024 the Luxon government has made two significant decisions: to reduce the tax take, by tax refunds and tax breaks for landlords, and to ignore the advice of medical experts on the needs of the nation’s health system.
Popping up here, there, everywhere
It seems to have taken visitors, the Lopez family from Australia, to put into perspective what I suspect many of our own people think of grossly excessive "coning’', our latest growth industry.
Within the last few weeks we in Waverley had work done involving a single power pole in Archibald St which runs parallel to our own. On driving south, at the first intersection, that with Eastbank St, a detour sign had directed me not out of, but into, the area where work was taking place; someone had proven incapable of pointing the detour arrow in the right direction.
On entering Archibald St we had found ourselves confronted by what we might have expected, a lengthy one-way for most of the block, but with cones coming so thick and fast that they had been considerably less than two metres apart restricting the lane to one way while work proceeded.
However, to drive home the message, inside the outer row of cones had been a second row of cones, up against the row already mentioned. The task had occupied the usual two men in a cherry-picker, while the customary extra four or so, stood around to lend moral support.
I wound down the window and had a word with the man in charge regarding the absurdity of it all. He had just grinned and sighed, as it seemed that, like us, it was a situation he too just had to accept.
Does anyone know how to go about buying shares in the coning industry; or on the strength of our experience, should it be rebranded the "conning'’ industry?
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