Tokoroa businessman pushes to keep CBD car parks
Redevelopment plans for Tokoroa’s Leith Pl are not sitting well with everyone.
Tokoroa businessman Jack Hoggard recently organised a petition to stop the multi-million dollar redevelopment of the business precinct.
He collected 500 signatures from residents and business owners in less than a month who claim only minor ‘‘housekeeping’’ is needed.
Hoggard was concerned at the loss of more than 30 car parks which he fears will cause travellers not to stop in the town.
‘‘The South Waikato District Council has double standards when it comes to car parks,’’ he said.
‘‘A fundamental principle with all commercial development in the central business district is that you make a contribution to parking, every property owner in this location has done that, but the council is taking away over 30 car parks.’’
Fellow businessman David Foote said the removal of the car parks will mean Tokoroa will miss out on business altogether.
‘‘If they take the car parks away when you are coming off state highway one you aren’t going to stop here, you will go south to the Bull Ring or Beez Neez in Atiamuri,’’ he said.
‘‘People are not going to be happy.’’ The South Waikato District Council is compensating for the loss of car parks by upgrading Dreghorn car park which is a 500m walk from Leith Pl.
But Foote said it will do little to help. ‘‘People travelling, even if they know about the park, won’t want to park away from Leith Pl,’’ he said.
Tokoroa CBD Upgrade project manager Sarah Flavall said the council was set on progressing with the redevelopment.
‘‘Council is steady in its decision to move ahead with the Tokoroa CBD Upgrade, and though we hear the concerns from these petitioners, we hear more loudly the comments of support from our community and the need to move Tokoroa into a brighter future,’’ she said.
‘‘Leith Pl will be maintaining its current number of disabled car parking and the layout of the carpark is relatively the same in terms of distance to shops.’’
‘‘Car parks will be monitored to ensure there is adequate car parking available at all times for all shoppers,’’ she said.
South Waikato News
Community behind Ocean
In two months, 3-year-old Ocean Stephen will have a life-changing operation in the United States.
When she was 18 months old, the Waihi toddler was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy Spastic Diplegia, which causes stiffness and spasticity in the muscles in her legs making activity difficult and sometimes painful and leaving her unable to walk independently.
Mum Kristen Waite said Ocean had been accepted for selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery in the United States by surgeon Dr TS Parks at St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri on July 31.
The surgery involves opening the lower vertebrae and electronically testing spinal chord fibres, cutting a percentage of fibres causing the spasticity.
It’s major surgery but after intensive therapy five days a week for a year following the surgery, Dr Parks predicts Ocean will be able to walk independently. Without the surgery, she will lose her mobility over time and could possibly be in a wheelchair by the time she’s a teenager.
The operation’s not funded in New Zealand and with the cost of physical therapy, Ocean’s total treatment will cost $150,000. This includes a $95,000 surgery bill, which must be paid in a few weeks to secure her surgery appointment.
Waite, who is a single mum, launched a fundraising campaign about six months ago, but is worried about a huge funding shortfall.
‘‘We’ve still got a long way to go,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s a bit terrifying, I’m trying to hold it together.’’
The community has rallied behind Ocean, so far raising a massive $63,000. But a shortfall of more than $30,000 is needed by June 15 to pay Ocean’s surgery bill.
There have been many fundraisers so far, including support from the Waihi Baptist Church and $8000 was raised at a fair for Ocean at Gilmour Reserve earlier this year.
‘‘The community’s been amazing, most of our support’s been from the community. We’ve had a few big donations too,’’ Waite said.
And more fundraisers are being held for Ocean in the next few weeks.
Waite has also set up a givealittle page: givealittle.co.nz/cause/ourjourneytosdr, and is running a blog called Let’s get
Houses snapped up
Hauraki Herald
Taupo¯ rental homes only spent two days on the market in April before being snapped up.
Emma Nichol from Harcourts Rentals said only 13 properties became available to rent in April. These properties were only vacant for an average of two days before being snapped up, she said.
The median rental prices for these properties were $310 for two bedroom homes, $410 for three bedroom homes and $460 for four bedroom homes.
Despite an apparent shortage in homes, Nichol advised rental home owners against ratcheting up prices.
‘‘Often, there are rentals advertised above market rents and tenants are tempted to jump in just to secure a home.
‘‘However this is usually a short-term solution and another move is on the cards in the near future. For Landlords also this is not good practice and often results in a high turnover of tenants with dead periods of no income in between tenancies.’’
Prices had already risen since 2017, she said. The average price for 2-bed rentals in March 2018 was up $45 to $315 per week, compared with March 2017. Three-bed rentals prices had increased $30 to $400pw and four-bed rentals up $5 to $465pw, compared with March 2017. More shortterm rentals would become available as winter arrived, she said.
‘‘There are a good number of furnished properties available now as the winter season sees more holiday home owners open to fixed-term rentals during the quieter months.’’
B&W Rentals senior property manager Lyn Heatherington said houses were often snapped up quickly because many renters had good references and all their documents ready.
‘‘Like you would with a job offer, if you’ve got everything ready, you’re going to get in quicker,’’ she said. People whose tenancies were scheduled to end were often the go-to picks for property management companies, she said.
‘‘I have tenants coming in who say ‘Our house is on the market [to sell] and I don’t want to wait – we want to find a new rental now’.’’
‘‘They would be the preferred tenants. Property management companies are going to take them ahead of everyone else because they have a history with us, or another company.’’
Taupo Times