Cromwell, Queenstown or Wanaka were suggested by the couple as potential new locations for the refurbished facility. Asked to comment on that possibility yesterday, Cromwell Community Board chairman Neil Gillespie said the board would consider any proposal but it would have to be a ''comprehensive'' application, which addressed all the relevant issues, including those highlighted at the Vincent board meeting.
At the meeting, Central Otago police sub-area supervisor Senior Sergeant Ian Kerrisk said reports of wilful damage in the central business district had declined by 62% and disorder incidents in the town centre decreased by 66%, compared with the previous year's figures, since the pie cart ceased trading after going up in flames in May.
Deputy Queenstown Lakes Mayor and Wanaka Community Board chairman Lyal Cocks said the pie cart could only relocate to the Wanaka central business district if it was set up on private land, as mobile businesses were prohibited from operating on public land in the town centre. Other existing mobile businesses in Wanaka, such as fresh fish, pizza and fruit vendors, all traded off private properties.
If private land was available, the pie cart operators would still have to ''tick all the boxes'' in terms of getting the required trading licences and consents from Lakes Environmental.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden could not be reached for comment yesterday. Former owners Trevor Lyons and Lynne Giles gave the shell of the pie cart to Mr Cameron and Ms Simmons - they did not sell them the remains of the facility, Ms Giles said. Ms Simmons said she and Mr Cameron had received nothing but positive feedback from Alexandra people about their plans. It was unfair to say the pie cart attracted the wrong element, she said.
''To me, alcohol is a big problem in this town; it's not of our making and we [the pie cart] get the blame for it.''
