Hurdles faced by Dunedin’s music community are "not just arts problems" and will need additional resources to address, councillors have heard.
Save Dunedin Live Music (SDLM) was among those who submitted on the Dunedin City Council’s 2025-34 long-term plan this week.
Spokesman David Bennett told councillors on Wednesday his one request for the long-term plan was to support the funding of staff resources, so the Otepoti Live Music Action Plan could be implemented fully.
Staffing was "crucial" to implementing all of the plan’s 36 action points, provided accountability and an interface for the city’s music community to solve the problems within the scene.
"We’ve always held the position that the troubles that face the music community in this town are not just arts problems.
"These are infrastructural problems, these are regulatory problems, these are enforcement problems.
"It’s a wide gamut of issues and it needs somebody who can work across council and we always felt that lumping this all on the arts was a bit rough on them."
The council in January voted 13-2 to approve a draft investment plan for the action plan, for consultation purposes as part of the long-term plan.
It proposed an increase in rates of about $137,000 each year for nine years, and an additional $4000 per annum for three of the nine years, to provide new funding for two of the action plan’s 36 goals.
This included two staffing positions to co-ordinate and deliver the action plan — a creative partnerships project co-ordinator and a new creative adviser position.
Some of the problems faced by the music community were also faced by the city’s theatre community, particularly the need for designated spaces, Mr Bennett said.
"All the art strategies in the world can’t build theatres, they can’t prevent music venues from shutting down, they can’t build rehearsal spaces.
"These are things that have to be approached from many sectors of council and we believe that staffing will help to achieve that."
He also noted other submitters from the theatre community had referenced the action plan as a piece of work they would like to emulate.
"We believe that it’s a piece of work that this city should be extremely proud of and we’d love to see it implemented across other creative areas."
Cr Steve Walker asked which of the plan’s 36 action points would benefit from additional staff resources.
Mr Bennett said the plan contained a mixture of arts programmes with larger infrastructural and regulatory projects.
Without drive from within council, these larger projects — such as rehearsal studios and options for mid-sized venues — "just aren’t getting off the ground".
"Having somebody be able to take a hold of these areas of the live music action plan and drive them as part of their job, with some accountability and some timelines, we believe will be absolutely crucial to implementing them."
