Alistair Broad – is he having a meltdown, or what?
Why is freehold baron Earl Hagaman not mentioned in this story?
[why is DCC’s treatment of the Caledonian leaseholders vaguely referenced, not by name… ugliness alert]
Oh dear, moths flying around the noble art of leaseholding as it may hold back development – what do they want? For Port Otago Ltd and Otago Regional Council to relinquish their power and wealth? Why should they?
What have Hilary Calvert and investor friends got to do with all this? The plot thickens.
Has this really anything to do with city councillors, EMT and the City Development Team (including the shattered urban design team) using “friends” to arbitrate change in the property sector. District plan and spatial plan objectives to be met for (cough) economic development?
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### ODT Online Thu, 12 Jun 2014
Businessman slams leasehold ‘parasite’
By Shawn McAvinue
Leasehold land is a ”parasite” killing development in Dunedin, property owner and businessmen Alistair Broad says. Mr Broad, of Dunedin, says property developers are reluctant to invest in Dunedin because of the large amount of leasehold land.
Read more
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
What if? Dunedin... 
Speaking of economic development strategy and lovely new offices at a leading city address, care of city ratepayers…
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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Enterprise Dunedin taking shape
This item was published on 12 Jun 2014
The establishment of Dunedin’s new single city marketing agency, Enterprise Dunedin, is well underway, with two key players setting up home together next week.
Enterprise Dunedin is the new group responsible for the economic development and marketing of the city. It brings together the DCC’s Economic Development Unit (EDU), i-SITE and Tourism Dunedin.
On Monday 16 June and Tuesday 17 June, EDU and Tourism Dunedin staff are moving into their new premises on the ground floor of the Municipal Chambers. The i-SITE Visitor Centre will stay in its current location at 26 Princes Street.
DCC Chief Executive Officer Dr Sue Bidrose says the new agency’s role is to deliver Dunedin’s Economic Development Strategy with the Grow Dunedin Partnership, including co-ordinating marketing initiatives for tourism and education and attracting investment and skilled migrants.
“When players across the city developed the Economic Development Strategy, they put a stake in the ground and made it clear what we have to do to ensure Dunedin continues to thrive economically.
“Part of that is bringing together economic development and marketing activities, because the message about Dunedin that we take to the world is the same whether you are a tourist, student or entrepreneur. That message is that Dunedin is a fantastic place in which to live, work, invest, study and visit.
“Work in those areas has been done previously by different agencies, but the benefit of creating a single group is that it will enable staff to work more closely together and achieve better outcomes for the city.”
Dr Bidrose says better alignment of marketing activities means a greater return on ratepayers’ investment in the promotion of Dunedin. The new agency is formally in place from 1 July. Until the new Director Enterprise Dunedin is appointed, all staff roles and industry contacts will remain the same. Staff can continue to be contacted on the same phone numbers.
“Creating Enterprise Dunedin is a really positive move which will bring real benefits to the city.”
Contact Chief Executive Officer on 03 477 4000.
DCC Link
Wrong people to do this: ” the message about Dunedin that we take to the world is the same whether you are a tourist, student or entrepreneur. That message is that Dunedin is a fantastic place in which to live, work, invest, study and visit.”
If they want people to say Dunedin is a fantastic place, etc, they first of all need to make it true. Then they will be able to rely on “tourist, student or entrepreneur” to spread the good news.
Self-praise is no praise. Who do we take seriously, Widgibizz Co that bellows “We’re the best widget supplier & servicer” or people we meet who have needed widgets and say “Widgibizz is out of this world excellent, they are so knowledgeable and helpful and their charges are very reasonable”?
Bluster outside a Billy Connolly show is overrated. A touch seedy and desperate, to boot.
New management position: City Enterprise
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/305792/council-seeks-fill-post
333 dunedintv.co.nz June 17, 2014 – 7:10pm
Dunedin’s new marketing agency setting up
Dunedin’s new marketing agency is setting up in the city, ready to take over on July the 1st. Enterprise Dunedin is the result of a merger between the Dunedin City Council’s Economic Development Unit and Tourism Dunedin. And despite some industry concerns about its formation, staff are feeling positive about the move.
Video
St Clair Beach* (location location location) voted one of New Zealand’s top ten beaches… All without Dunedin Enterprise? Just Cr Hawkins being mid-winter Baywatch. Cheaper by far.
*Esplanade area zoned for mixed use. No Broad shoe factories or dairy processing plants here, thank you.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/305543/secret-out-beach
Here’s a coup! To be announced in ODT tomorrow, the loss of direct summer flights to Melbourne and Sydney.
Tourism/EDU remnants at Dunedin Enterprise can thus be replaced by a website with Daaave compelled to check it just once a month (to help pay for ongoing repairs to the broken mayoral chain).
This is a blow. I guess they are keeping the Brisbane option for…how long? I realise Brisbane is a drawcard for Surfers etc, but Melbourne and Sydney are 4m – 4.5m each, population-wise. Are they really that unviable, once summer has largely passed? Even a couple of flights a week?
Or is this another case of Dunedin getting a raw deal?
Interesting to see an update of Air NZ’s latest profitability stats.
What will our National and Labour MPs have to say? Not that they seem to be taken much notice of outside Dunedin. (Or inside for that matter.)
Not good, no. But I’m more than happy to fly out through Queenstown – the Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu are worth the diversion.
Virgin axes Australia flights
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/305700/virgin-axes-australia-flights
Not a good look for Dunedin tourism I would have thought. Queenstown is a busy airport, but it isn’t a good alternative for business flights. Try to get to Wellington and back for the day from Queenstown as an example. But no doubt that the trend shows Queenstown to develop further and Dunedin to decline further as tourist or conference hubs. The recently announced hotel night figures show that clearly I would have thought with record April figures being reported in Queenstown – hardly the peak of the tourism season. In addition the conference market seems to show that Queenstown is a preferred destination for both national and international events. Queenstown has tons of hotels, the airport is close to town, the visual attractions are superb and there are a range of activities that range from high adrenalin to more passive pursuits. Dunedin by contrast offers some superb coastal nature attractions and some interesting heritage buildings, but lacks more of the high energy attractions. If you were running a conference that wanted to attract a thousand or so delegates, where would you choose? Ditto with Virgin who seem to be reacting quite simply to levels of existing business and trends they are now seeing.
Yes, Queenstown’s physical attractions are undoubted, but as a place to live, in terms of community, it gets the thumbs down as far as I’m concerned. Also, it has no character or ‘soul’. Not relevant, to be sure, for tourism though. It has Tinsel Town written all over it. Same goes for a place like Surfers’ Paradise in Australia. So many people flock to these kind of places like lemmings.
It does seem to attract a crowd of very poor, rich types who gather there to bask in their own self-reflected glory. Oh, so terrible, when you get such riffraff in your own neighbourhood!
As a place to live, Queenstown would be not my choice by a country mile. But the issue is one of external money coming in. Queenstown has a mile of it and it seems to be happening more and more year round. Dunedin has very little of that trade. You only need to go out to the supermarket area near the airport to see the level of activity that is happening. Choppers going in and out, jets coming in and out regularly, shops full of people.
Yes, it is tinsel town and the same can be said for Surfers. But both have got immediate attractions that are obvious. But neither are at all attractive as a place of residence. Generally places of high tourist value in New Zealand are not necessarily good places to live and vice versa.
So, here’s the question. What is Dunedin offering as a place of residence if it’s not attracting greater numbers of tourists? Culls 10,000 new jobs? Its not going to happen without investment in all sorts of things. Why should a person be attracted to Dunedin when that level of investment isn’t possible because of too much debt? Is a person with a young family going to come to Dunedin to try and find a job because there is a cycling lane going up and down SH1? Or because there might be a concert they could go to every couple of years?
It is a very sad fact, but Dunedin without the University, the Polytechnic and the Teaching Hospital would be a bleak place from an economic point of view. While no-one can believe that it could ever return to its former position as the Corporate capital of NZ back in the post-gold days, it is very hard to see just where it will be in 20 years’ time based on the community leadership that is currently on offer.
Local people everywhere take little notice of “attractions” except when they’ve got visitors from elsewhere to entertain by taking them round the “highlights”. Wherever we live and work, we have our own things to do and favourite places to go, perhaps a special place to sit and watch the waves while we eat lunch, or go around Back Beach and feed the geese.
Conference organisers on the other hand are looking for glitzy places. It’s a business, running conferences. You have to attract good speakers and lots of attendees, sometimes with partners. Not everyone going to a conference is passionate about the topics, it may be rather a bind having to fly to goodness knows where (esp if you are from Britain, Europe and Nth America and this time you have to endure a long flight to somewhere as far away as NZ (NZ who? Where?) so it better be good. Queenstown ticks the boxes, it’s great for superficial FUN and quick virtually effort- and risk-free ADVENTURE. Companies that are still into bonding through discomfort with people you are OK about working with but why spend valuable free time with them (are those sessions still going, or has that fad died of futility?) can make employees go white water rafting, bungee jumping etc and smile and be demonstrable Team Players.
Dunedin has Attractions, but to really appreciate it you need to get under the surface. Queestown not so much.
Dunedin would probably attract a different kind of tourist,who are prepared to spend time here and….spend! We can always play to our strengths with success.
### ODT Online Tue, 17 Jun 2014
Dunedin service a flying shame
By David Loughrey
Dunedin businesses are suffering from what they say is a poor domestic air service that is not helping economic development. And prices on some Dunedin routes appear much higher than similar flights elsewhere in New Zealand.
Read more
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ODT: Opinion: Making an air service our own
The business whizkids seem to think they can make a viable airline for this low population region. Dream on. Easier to use Skype and send your business satchel in eitherditection by courier turbo-Drone.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/306317/city-faces-facts-risk
### ODT Online Mon, 24 Nov 2014
11 new developments, more needed
By Simon Hartley
The equivalent of more than five rugby fields of industrial space has been created in Dunedin via 11 new developments during the past 18 months.
Aside from the new space, the former Carisbrook groundoffers a possible further 30,000sq m of land, but owner Calder Stewart Industries is yet to confirm any tenants. Commercial and industrial land research by Colliers International recently noted that there was a shortage of quality buildings to lease in Dunedin, and several industrial occupiers had commissioned new design-built premises.
Read more
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New developments since mid-2013
11 new industrial buildings, adding about 27,000sq m of industrial space to the city.
• Cerebos Greggs, Forth St.
• Morlite Aluminium, Kaikorai Valley Rd.
• Auto Court, Burns St.
• PGG Wrightson Woolstore, Dukes Rd.
• Crown Relocations, McNab St.
• New Drystore, Silverstream Industrial.
• Estate, Dukes Rd.
• Radcliffe Electrical, former Shoreline site.
• Document Destruction, Kaikorai Valley Rd.
• Telfer Electrical, King Edward St.
• Multispares Development, Timaru-Teviot Sts.
• Chep, Sturdee St.
Industrial sales in Dunedin since mid-2013
• Carisbrook ground: $3.21 million.
• 580 Kaikorai Valley Rd (Document Destruction): $2.06 million.
• NZ Post, Strathallan St: $5 million.
• Wickliffe Press, Factory Rd, Mosgiel: $2.43 million.
• PGG Wrightson Wool, Dukes Rd, Mosgiel: $5.42 million.
• O’Brien’s, Gow St, Mosgiel: $1.93 million.
• Former Southern Cross Forestry Products complex (leased to Timpack), Mosgiel: Undisclosed price.
Source: Colliers International (via ODT)
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Related Posts and Comments:
17.4.12 Carisbrook carpark – scarce, valuable industrial land… (put to dead use)
21.5.11 Industrial land – Taieri, Dunedin