Campaign signs in breach
About 60 temporary signs erected in the Invercargill CBD for the ‘‘Stand up for SIT’’ campaign do not comply with the city’s district plan rules, a senior city council staffer has confirmed.
Pamela Gare said the Stand Up for SIT campaign was co-ordinated by Market South and the signage was located throughout the CBD and in high-traffic areas.
The campaign opposes the Government’s proposed national polytechnic merger.
Under the proposal, SIT and 15 other training providers would merge to become the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology.
A member of the public complained about the signage in the city.
In an email to the council, the person asks the council to act, as the signage was affecting the residential amenity of the public which the district plan aimed to mitigate.
‘‘It is unfair to allow this activity to occur publicly and throughout the city when you require resource consent applications from sports clubs and businesses if they are wanting to have signage that doesn’t relate to what is on site,’’ the complainant says.
Gare said the council had acted on the complaint.
‘‘The temporary signage does not comply with the district plan rules and it is our usual practice to respond to complaints.’’
On Friday, Gare said she had been in touch with Carla Forbes of Market South and would meet her to discuss how the signage issue would be addressed.
Options could include Market South lodging a resource consent application or agreeing to remove the signage within a specific timeframe.
Forbes, the Stand Up For SIT campaign organiser, confirmed Market South co-ordinated the sign campaign.
‘‘We are aware that due process hasn’t been followed in the case of this campaign, however, its haste comes from a place of passion for Southland.’’
The timeline of the Government’s consultation and Education Minister Chris Hipkins’ confirmation of his visit to Southland necessitated the haste, she said.
‘‘We felt it required immediate action; Southland’s future is at stake and this is not to be taken lightly.’’
Forbes said Market South had had preliminary discussions with the council about the campaign but they did not discuss specifics such as locations and sizes. Market South would meet the council to discuss having the signage removed in the coming weeks.
She apologised if the signage had offended anyone but the complaint was disappointing.
‘‘Overall, we’ve found support to be overwhelming and we’re continually humbled by the community’s support.’’