Accelerated $20 million city centre plan backed

A plan to accelerate work on a nearly $20 million central city improvement programme has been endorsed by most Dunedin city councillors.

However, the 13-1 vote in favour of progressing work came only after testy exchanges, as Cr Lee Vandervis' criticism of council planners prompted a rebuke from Cr David Benson-Pope.

The debate came as councillors considered a report by council acting urban design team leader Dr Glen Hazelton, which outlined three options for central city renewal, improvement and transportation projects over the next decade.

The work programme - ranging from new footpaths and water main renewals along George St to a $6 million Octagon redevelopment - had been revised and co-ordinated by staff across several council departments.

The result was a new 10-year indicative budget for central city improvements and unfunded transport projects presented to yesterday's long-term plan deliberations.

The budget forecast accelerated progress, beginning with planning work in the first two years, but, if approved, could add up to $19.998 million to the council's books over the next decade.

The budgets did not include potential funding support from the New Zealand Transport Agency.

However, Dr Hazelton's report suggested three options to progress the work, beginning with a status quo approach allowing renewal work - such as replacing century-old water mains along George St - to continue independently of other improvements.

Option two would have the council consolidating renewal and other central city improvements into a co-ordinated work programme, to be carried out within the original 10-year time frame.

Option three would accelerate work on some parts of the co-ordinated work programme, including on George and Princes Sts, to minimise disruption in the central city.

Most councillors agreed with Cr David Benson-Pope, who supported adding option three - and the revised budget - to the pre-draft LTP for the purposes of consultation and to allow planning to begin.

Cr Benson-Pope said the central city gave people their ''first impression'' of Dunedin, but the city had fallen behind other centres in recent years.

Cr Vandervis disagreed, saying the council was in no position to plan for such expenditure, and should learn from the expensive mistakes of the harbourside plan change.

Ratepayers had ''had enough'' of such spending, and the council should instead ''restructure'' the jobs of council planners involved in the central city programme, he said.

''We have got probably a surplus of planners - a surplus of plans ... planners' dreams are, I believe, generally a ratepayers' nightmare.

''We have got no money - do you not understand?'' he asked councillors.

Cr Benson-Pope responded by saying he was disappointed by Cr Vandervis' rudeness, when staff ''deserved to be congratulated, rather than abused''.

Mayor Dave Cull also criticised Cr Vandervis' ''slash and burn'' approach.

Deputy mayor Chris Staynes also disagreed, and congratulated council staff for working in a co-ordinated way to address central city planning issues.

Financial challenges would still have to be considered carefully in future years, but the council could not afford to ''let our city rot'', he said.

Dr Hazelton's report outlined the range of council funding streams that could be used to pay for the work over the next decade, and suggested ''piecemeal'' development would cost the council more over time.

The revised indicative budget, presented yesterday, anticipated an extra $2.3 million would be needed in the first three years, to 2017-18, largely for planning. Larger sums would need to be considered in later years to implement a variety of projects.

Cr Richard Thomson said the larger sums would add pressure to the council's already ''pretty stretched'' budget, but would be reviewed during the next LTP process in three years.

Cr Jinty MacTavish said parts of the 10-year programme's budget seemed ''fundamentally unaffordable'', but she was not sure which until more planning was undertaken.

Cr Aaron Hawkins said there was ''obvious urgency'' in the work.

''We have got some serious catching up to do in this field.''

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

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