Buildings in Invercargill’s city centre are set for a facelift.
At an Invercargill City Council meeting yesterday, councillors voted on taking an enabling approach to improving the facades of buildings that would use various measures to engage buildings owners.
Those could include social media campaign, direct correspondence between elected members and building owners, establishing connection with owners of targeted buildings and exploring current funding avenues available to building owners.
The plan will cost about $10,000.
Council consents and compliance interim group manager Jonathan Shaw presented a report on the matter, which said some commercial properties in the city centre appeared neglected and the council had asked officers look into whether regulatory enforcement could be used to ensure maintenance.
Maintenance options outlined in the report included repair of broken windows, removal of accumulated litter and/or rubbish that was likely to attract, harbour or promote the breeding of vermin, removal of noxious weeds and plants, painting work and removing tagging.
Mayor Nobby Clark said public feedback had indicated the council had put a lot of work into Invercargill Central but adjoining streets were "not that tidy".
"Part of it is [do we] put ratepayer money into it, do we have a vested interest in the beauty of our city, or do we leave it up to owners."
The enabling approach was supported unanimously.
A third option, discussed but not accepted by councillors, was establishing a $200,000 annual incentive fund.
Mr Shaw said the option was built around the assumption work would be partly funded by the council but be undertaken by the building owners in a similar manner to the process for heritage buildings, which had annual funding of $300,000.
Mr Shaw said figures showing the number of buildings involved, and if they were council owned, were not available yet. The information would be provided to the council at a later date.
