Opposition rises to TDC’s plans for CBD roadworks
Forty business-people met last Thursday and filled in submissions asking council to reconsider the timing of the roadworks associated with the reticulated fire-fighting water scheme. Photo: Neil Wilson.
Takaka businesspeople are united in their opposition to the timing of the roadworks associated with the proposed reticulated fire-fighting water scheme.
Owners and managers are saying that the roadworks will disrupt their Commercial Street businesses in the crucial summer period, beginning well before Christmas.
At a meeting last Thursday, people in business around the CBD gathered to express their feelings to Crs Noel Riley and Martine Bouillir, who had been in Richmond, meeting with the council staff in charge of the project. At the end of the meeting those present filled in written submissions to be sent to TDC the next morning. Several speakers criticised the council’s performance in communicating information about the work.
Council called another meeting for Thursday of this week (yesterday) and the businesspeople were planning to meet before that meeting to form a consensus view on preferred timing options to put to council.
Work on the reticulated fire-fighting water scheme is scheduled to start quite soon, though the contract was still unsigned on Tuesday. Council spokespeople have been saying that the contract is about to be signed ever since the Timeless Creations fire four weeks ago.
The contract for the water scheme requires the Commercial Street roadworks to be completed before the middle of December, so long as the weather does not intervene. The businesspeople are saying that it is not enough for the council to ensure that the contractors cannot work in Commercial Street between mid-December and mid-January.
“The business we do over summer is crucial for our year-round survival” says Toy Murchie of Lollokiki. “The gap in the work plan after the middle of December isn’t long enough, and I’m concerned about the possible effects of wet weather. Also I don’t see the point of the contractors pushing ahead with the Commercial Street section first if the fire-fighting system isn’t going to be working during the summer anyway.”
Tracey Brignole, who runs Mariposa and Soul, said that she is busy training up the extra staff she has taken on for the summer.
“My businesses certainly doesn’t need any disruption in our main trading season between December and Easter,” she says. “I faxed all 45 of the businesspeople’s submissions to the council first thing on Friday morning and another 13 during the day. The fact that the contract hasn’t been signed yet might be a sign that the council is starting to hear us. I’m hoping that we can come to a win-win solution to this problem.”
Bob Hancock from Take Note spoke at last Thursday’s meeting, noting that council had advertised earlier public meetings about the reticulated fire-fighting water scheme and that only a few business people had attended. Bob also lamented the fact that the Mainstreet committee, that used to represent all the town’s businesses, no longer existed.
“It would have been the ideal body for council to communicate with. They’d have known that all the business people had been given the chance to find out what was happening.”
Neil Wilson
