Xtra News Community 2
March 30, 2024, 02:21:50 am
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: Welcome to Xtra News Community 2 — please also join our XNC2-BACKUP-GROUP.
 
  Home Help Arcade Gallery Links BITEBACK! XNC2-BACKUP-GROUP Staff List Login Register  

Doing it in Auckland

Pages: 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 [10] 11 12 13 14   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Doing it in Auckland  (Read 30222 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #225 on: February 05, 2014, 09:15:36 am »


from The New Zealand Herald....

Council returns to mowing berms in Auckland

Residents who can't cut the grass, or refuse to, will get
a trim but contractors can wait until it is 20cm high.


By BERNARD ORSMAN | 6:59AM - Monday, February 03, 2014

An overgrown Auckland berm. — Photo: Sarah Ivey.
An overgrown Auckland berm. — Photo: Sarah Ivey.

AUCKLAND TRANSPORT has quietly backed down on mowing berms, but is skimping on the quality of grass-cutting.

After months of controversy and scruffy verges, the Auckland Council's transport arm has resumed mowing berms where residents cannot do so, or refuse to.

But Auckland Transport will cut the grass only periodically, and to a lower standard than previously.

Councillors are set to discuss the new stance tomorrow, seven months after voting to save $3 million by not cutting berms in the old Auckland City Council area.

Last night, a spokeswoman for Auckland Transport claimed its stance had not changed and it was mowing berms, albeit to a lower standard.

"It wasn't made explicit, as we wanted to encourage a behaviour change," she said.

The same spokeswoman told the Herald on October 2nd that without an exemption it was unlikely berms would be mown by the council.

By December, just 36 exemptions had been approved.

Auckland Transport requires contractors not to let grass grow higher than 100mm and mow the grass within 50mm of the ground on the berms, medians and traffic islands it maintains.

Where residents do not or cannot mow their berms, contractors can wait until the grass grows to 200mm before mowing it to within 75mm of the ground.

The new steps do not go far enough for some ward councillors in the old Auckland City boundaries.

Albert-Eden-Roskill councillor Chris Fletcher said the policy needed reviewing. Former Auckland City residents, who paid to have their berms mown through their rates, were receiving a lower level of service and paying higher rates.

Orakei councillor Cameron Brewer said he planned an amendment for the proper reinstatement of berm mowing, which could be funded from a special $101 million dividend from Auckland Airport, or internal savings.

"The policy has failed dismally and saved nothing. The silliness and constant fighting with the elderly, sick, migrants and those who don't have a lawn mower has to stop," he said.

A paper going to the regional strategy and policy committee on the issue does not have any costings or say if Auckland Transport has met its $3 million savings target.

Onehunga resident Rex McLeod, 62, who told the Herald last October he had never seen the berms look so bad, believed the council should mow everyone's berms.

The council has said extending the same service throughout the Super City would cost an extra $12 million to $15 million a year.


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/aucklander/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503378&objectid=11195808
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #226 on: February 05, 2014, 09:15:46 am »


from The New Zealand Herald....

Berm policy shift disputed

Residents tell of trouble getting help, while
Auckland Transport says it has not backed down.


By BERNARD ORSMAN | 5:30AM - Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Chris Mills, who lives in a lawn-free Ellerslie property, has had an ongoing dispute with Auckland Transport over mowing the council's berm. — Photo: Richard Robinson.
Chris Mills, who lives in a lawn-free Ellerslie property, has had an ongoing dispute with Auckland Transport
over mowing the council's berm. — Photo: Richard Robinson.


ELLERSLIE RESIDENT Chris Mills says Auckland Transport is not being honest by claiming to mow the berms of residents who refuse to do so.

Mr Mills is one resident who refused to mow the berm outside his house in Celtic Avenue and was advised by Auckland Transport: "We will not be mowing this berm."

The unemployed 62-year-old said he had lived at his lawn-free property since 1981 and did not want to buy a lawnmower to cut the council berm.

Several approaches to Auckland Transport about the berm, which is encroaching a cracked footpath, have resulted in one letter advising him the berm would not be mowed. The council body now says it will reassess his case based on its policy.

Alfrieda Thompson, an 80-year-old who lives on a corner section in Waterview, is another resident refusing to mow part of her berm and in a stalemate with Auckland Transport.

The pensioner said she was happy to mow the berm outside her legal address at Seaside Avenue but not outside Fir Street, where the grass is over 50cm tall. Her son, Derek Thompson, said he'd contacted Auckland Transport twice in the past month about the issue, but had no response.


The overgrown grass berm at the intersection of Fir Street and Seaside Avenue in Waterview. — Photo: Richard Robinson.
The overgrown grass berm at the intersection of Fir Street and Seaside Avenue
in Waterview. — Photo: Richard Robinson.


Yesterday, Auckland Transport emailed councillors to dispute a Herald article saying it had "quietly backed down" on mowing berms and had always cut the grass of those who would not, for a variety of reasons, mow their berms.

"This was not an explicit policy as we wanted to encourage behaviour change and we have achieved this in the great majority of cases," communications manager Sharon Hunter told councillors. Ms Hunter said information about mowing berms where residents could not do so, or refused to, was put on the Auckland Transport website late last year.

Yesterday, Auckland Transport changed the website wording on the policy. The words if landowners "cannot or do not maintain their berm" were softened to "are unable or unwilling to mow the grass berm".


Council's kindest cut

Sunday: "If landowners cannot or do not maintain their berm, then Auckland Transport will periodically mow these areas. However, this will be to a lower standard and less frequently than previous services."

Yesterday: "If residents/landowners are unable or unwilling to mow the grass berm, then Auckland Transport contractors will maintain it, on an as — and when-required basis to keep the grass at an acceptable length. The timing and frequency of this services is at the discretion of Auckland Transport and will vary depending on seasonal growth of the grass."


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11196229
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #227 on: February 05, 2014, 09:15:58 am »


from The New Zealand Herald....

Berms: Politicians say it with flowers

By BERNARD ORSMAN | 6:17AM - Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Pippa Coom says bees and butterflies love her planted berm. — Photo: Richard Robinson.
Pippa Coom says bees and butterflies love her planted berm. — Photo: Richard Robinson.

TWO Auckland Council politicians are flouting council rules by planting flower beds on their berms.

Councillor Cathy Casey and Waitemata Local Board member Pippa Coom are proud of their flower beds, with Dr Casey saying it was easier to maintain flowers than mow a berm against a wall at her Mount Albert home.

Ms Coom said not everyone wanted verges to be mowed and her planted berm in Grey Lynn was about having a diverse landscape.

The bees and butterflies loved it and it gave her a chance to talk to neighbours, she said.

Auckland Transport could help out, she said, by setting guidelines about what could be planted.

A council debate on the berm issue yesterday also heard of cases of people planting flax and corn on berms.

Defiance of the rules angered councillor Denise Krum, who said the approach of planting corn, flax and flowers and politicians' behaviour sent a message to residents that anything goes.

"The whole thing is a dog's breakfast," Ms Krum said.

Auckland Transport road manager Alan Wallace said berms were generally not the place for vegetable gardens and fruit trees.

"It's a public domain. It is not the landowners' land," Mr Wallace said.

Later, Auckland Transport communications manager Sharon Hunter said no action was taken against people who planted flowers and other plants on their berms. They would only be asked to remove plants that grew high, obscured a street sign or became a hazard.

Last October, Ms Hunter said people had to apply for a licence to plant on berms.

Since then, Auckland Transport's policy on berms has "evolved" after the council voted to save $3 million by not cutting berms in the old Auckland City Council area from July last year.

After initially making few exceptions, Auckland Transport has resumed mowing where residents cannot or refuse to do so.

It has dumped the exemption policy, which required people to provide a medical certificate; and is taking a relaxed attitude to people planting berms.

Mr Wallace said the earlier policy was aimed at encouraging people to mow their berms. However, without the legal means to enforce the issue, Auckland Transport would now mow the less than 2 percent of berms that people would not or could not mow.


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11196784
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
nitpicker1
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 11886


Nothing sexceeds like sexcess


« Reply #228 on: February 05, 2014, 11:18:38 am »


re mess # 227

Defiance of the rules angered councillor Denise Krum, who said the approach of planting corn, flax and flowers and politicians' behaviour sent a message to residents that anything goes.


seems to me that someone should tell Denise Krum to go do it herself Huh

I see on her twittering site that she's been busy mowing other people's berms

At Mt Wellington with my lawn mower team. Having fun
( https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BVyPC1RCUAAcwrm.jpg )

What is her own berm like?

Who can work Google street view? 

Authorized by Denise Krum 5A Haronui Rd - Maungakiekie-Tamaki Auckland   ·


 Auckland   



Report Spam   Logged

"Life might not be the party you were expecting, but you're here now, so you may as well get up and dance"
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #229 on: February 05, 2014, 11:41:05 am »

What is her own berm like?

Who can work Google street view? 

Authorized by Denise Krum 5A Haronui Rd - Maungakiekie-Tamaki Auckland   ·


 Auckland  



Being a back section, she doesn't have a berm.

Take a look at the aerial photograph and you can see the garage next to the house, with the driveway running up to the street, and no berm.






And having those sorts of resources at one's fingertips (being able to locate and spy on people's properties from the air) is actually quite scary.

I didn't even go to Google Earth to get that, but merely carried out an ordinary Google Search for the address, then double-clicked on the map which appeared as one of the results and zoomed in on the aerial photograph to get a closer view. If I had continued to click on it, it would most likely have changed by itself to Street View, although being a back section, you would only have been able to look down the driveway, which turns 90-degrees into the actual property itself, so it wouldn't have been possible to view the house. But by remaining in aerial view mode, you can see the result.

Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #230 on: February 09, 2014, 06:24:15 am »


Brian Rudman

About-face verges on laughable

Brian Rudman on Auckland

Aucklanders have won the battle of the berms but AT's
orders to mowing crews show it up as a bad loser


The New Zealand Herald | 9:30AM - Friday, February 07, 2014



POOR old Auckland Transport. With its catalogue of past calamities — Rugby World Cup opening, Snapper card, real time indicator board — you might have thought by now it would have perfected the gracious "whoops, we cocked up again" mea culpa.

The berm cutting fiasco suggests otherwise. Bad loser to the end, AT has finally caved in and admitted it was all bluster. It has no power to force neighbouring residents to mow AT's adjacent roadside berm. It now says that where necessary, it will do the job itself. But the apology comes with a nasty sting. AT pledges that if you force it to mow the berm outside your house, it will do a crap job of it!

Why? Spokesman Alan Wallace explained to councillors on Tuesday that if AT did too good a job of mowing the berm, it wouldn't "incentivise" the adjacent residents to mow the berms themselves. What AT plans to do is to tell its mowing contractors to raise the mower blades when cutting berms outside the properties of refuseniks to ensure the untidy look remains intact.

Talk about petty.

What will happen is that on traffic islands, roundabouts and berms adjacent to shopping centres, where AT accepts full responsibility for grass cutting, the contractors will be told not to let grass grow higher than 75mm, and that when they cut, to trim it back to 20mm. However, when cutting the grass outside the homes of refuseniks, contractors can wait until it grows to 100mm, and are instructed to raise the blade height to a shaggy-looking 50mm.

Councillors were told no cost savings are involved. It's all to do with "incentivising", and, dare I say, punishing.

Of course Mayor Len Brown and a majority of councillors are also to blame. In the development of the 2013/14 annual plan, the politicians who represent wards from outside the old Auckland City jumped at the chance of grabbing the $3 million a year that the ratepayers of old Auckland City put aside for communally financed berm mowing.

When the new do-it-yourself policy came into effect last year, the mayor and his suburban allies tried to make it a moral campaign. Good, salt-of-the-earth, community-minded citizens from the outlands versus lazy, selfish old Aucklanders.

They deliberately ignored the fact that a large majority of residents in the old Auckland City used to mow their berms anyway. And, under the new regime, have kept doing so. But a few, like myself for instance, have no lawn, and so, no mower. Others live in apartment blocks or are too frail to help AT out.

After a summer playing tough, AT has finally conceded the buck stops with it. But the mean-spirited way it has gone about it just leaves a nasty after-taste.

For a number of correspondents, it's not just the battle that has bemused them, but the word berm itself. When, I keep being asked, did a grass verge become a berm? More than one Wellingtonian suggested it must be an Aucklandism. Just the opposite, it seems.

Harry Orsman, who edited the 1997 Oxford Dictionary of New Zealand English, cites examples dating back to NZ Army use in World War II. Thanks to the search engine attached to the National Library's Papers Past collection of old newspapers, the earliest New Zealand reference I could find is a Wellington Evening Post story of June 14th, 1922, highlighting a major road building programme in Pennsylvania, USA, complete with "a berm of 3 feet on either side ..."

Indeed all the early newspaper references are from the same paper. In September 1926, the Post reports on a Lower Hutt mixed industrial and residential development, detailing that "along each side of the new subdivisional roads, between footpath and frontage, a grass berm is being provided, for planting avenues of trees".

In February 1937, "Jemima" writes to the same paper inviting all "to come and see the glorious profusion of grasses, mustard weed and gorse which adorn the road surrounds opposite Kelburn School; also the beautiful three-foot grass berm where the bus stops". Perhaps tongue in cheek she adds, "These choice verdant bits of Nature draw comments of wondering awe from all Kelburnites, but they mean one must wear gumboots on wet days." Another wet summer in the capital?

As for "berm", I could track down no Auckland usage around the same time. But we're certainly making up for lost time now.


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11197705
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #231 on: February 13, 2014, 11:07:19 am »




               (click on the photograph to read the news story)
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
ssweetpea
Moderator
Absolutely Fabulously Incredibly Shit-Hot Member
*
Posts: 7433



WWW
« Reply #232 on: February 13, 2014, 08:33:02 pm »

What is truely amazing is the site it is being built on has been empty for over 20 years.
Report Spam   Logged

The way politicians run this country a small white cat should have no problem http://sally4mp.blogspot.com/
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #233 on: February 16, 2014, 09:01:51 pm »



Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #234 on: February 26, 2014, 11:47:50 am »


Love that new seat

By DANIELLE STREET - Auckland City Harbour News | 5:00AM - Wednesday, 26 February 2014

BENCH BREAK: Helen, left, Marco and Ralf Schnabel take a rest on the Curran Street loveseat.
BENCH BREAK: Helen, left, Marco and Ralf Schnabel take
a rest on the Curran Street loveseat.


RESTORING an old and rundown tram bench on their berm was a true labour of love for the Schnabel family.

The wooden seat was installed on the Curran Street sidewalk by the previous tenants as a place for people to rest when walking up the hill.

"We felt that this was a little act of love to the community to have a bench, but the bench then fell into disrepair and was vandalised," Ralf Schnabel says.

"So we decided to give it a new lease of life, but we wanted to give it a theme, which is the theme of love."

The family's first challenge was sourcing the 100-year-old hardwood to fix the unusual seat.

"That was very difficult. I can tell you it was very hard," Dr Schnabel says.

"That was the biggest act of love in restoring it," his wife Helen jokes.

Following the repair job, the family began painting the seat a romantic red and stories started coming out of the woodwork.

"It was interesting. While we worked on this bench so many people passed by and shared their own stories of this bench," Mr Schnabel says.

People spoke of having their first kiss there, or sharing a special moment with their children.

"It was so lovely," he says.

To carry the theme of love the Schnabels have stuck plaques with "love" written in several languages onto the bench.

They have also invited people to hang bells and messages of love in a nearby tree.

The family have also put a semi-secret plaque in the ground to mark their sentiments.

"It's visible to those who stop to take a rest," Mr Schnabel says.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/auckland-city-harbour-news/9761214/Love-that-new-seat
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #235 on: March 23, 2014, 12:56:29 pm »



Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #236 on: April 07, 2014, 10:27:19 am »



Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #237 on: April 10, 2014, 05:44:12 pm »




               (click on the picture to learn more)




Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
ssweetpea
Moderator
Absolutely Fabulously Incredibly Shit-Hot Member
*
Posts: 7433



WWW
« Reply #238 on: April 27, 2014, 04:09:14 pm »

I rode on an eletric train today-in Auckland!

It was a well organised event and not the rent-a-crowd usually seen at these free one off events.

Well done AT even if the trains were running a little late.

All sevices on the Onehunga line will be electric as of tomorrow.
Report Spam   Logged

The way politicians run this country a small white cat should have no problem http://sally4mp.blogspot.com/
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #239 on: June 09, 2014, 09:34:02 am »




               (click on the cartoon)
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #240 on: June 10, 2014, 04:52:55 pm »


Who'd want to live in Auckland, eh?

It is becoming more and more like the Chicago of the South Pacific.




Fatal stabbing: Police speak to boys

(New Zealand Herald news story — 4:25PM, Tuesday, June 10, 2014)
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #241 on: June 15, 2014, 11:21:14 am »



Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #242 on: July 28, 2014, 12:47:54 am »



Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
nitpicker1
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 11886


Nothing sexceeds like sexcess


« Reply #243 on: September 28, 2014, 12:08:55 am »


Affordable Auckland attacks 'creeping apartheid'


Stephen Berry, Fuseworks

September 25, 2014, 5:59 pm

Affordable Auckland Leader Stephen Berry is disturbed by developments increasing the number of local body regions choosing racially based representation. The Waikato and Bay of Plenty Regional Councils already have Maori wards, while New Plymouth District Council voted to also have a Maori ward two days ago.

Stephen Berry is now mounting an offensive against a proposal to include Maori wards on Auckland Council. "It is bad enough that Auckland has been saddled with the Independent Maori Statutory Board which allows unelected members, on the basis of race, to vote on the Council. To further advance the cause of political apartheid by introducing racial wards is intolerable."

"I passionately believe that every single individual should be treated equally by Council, without reference to any collective label, like every other individual. The Maori ward concept is an insipid proposal which will only damage race relations in Auckland."

Berry believes it would be even worse for Auckland Council to follow this path due to the unique legislation which established the Supercity model. "Council has the power to establish Maori wards. However it does not have the power to disestablish the Independent Maori Statutory Board. Aucklanders could find themselves carrying two forms of racism in their governance structure.

"I also want to make special mention of John "Horse" McLeod, who resigned from New Plymouth District Council following a vote to adopt a Maori ward. Horse is a man of conviction who resigned on principle against electoral racism. I wish more politicians possessed the same volume of spine."

The Affordable City nationwide local body umbrella has been dormant for the last six months while many of its members have engaged in the recent general election on the behalf of various political parties. Berry says he is making new moves back into the sphere of local body politics following his recent parliamentary candidacy.
"Watch this space," he adds with a wink.

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/local/25109143/affordable-auckland-attacks-creeping-apartheid/
Report Spam   Logged

"Life might not be the party you were expecting, but you're here now, so you may as well get up and dance"
reality
Guest
« Reply #244 on: October 22, 2014, 07:21:02 pm »

End of an era for Auckland's giant Santa

6:35 PM Wednesday Oct 22, 2014

Auckland's famous Santa will not be back for Christmas.

Terry Gould, Heart of the City chairman, announced the news at the organisation annual general meeting in Auckland tonight

"We are going through a process of looking at each budget item line by line and adopting a measure of budget restraint until we get a full understanding of the financial information going forward.

"We've identified several areas where planned spending can be reviewed but we also feel this is a process which should be best carried out under the guards of the interim chief executive," Mr Gould said.

"However, due to timing issues, some legal decision making has been required. One of which means that the big Santa and his reindeer will not be appearing in its usual place on the Whitcoull's corner on Queen street this coming Christmas," he said.

The funding assistance the Heart of the City traditionally received from sources had been progressively withdrawn, Mr Gould said.


"This year the board has been determined that in the best interest of our members and the organisation, that sadly the Heart of the City simply cannot justify Santa's significant installation costs of approximately $180,000."

Mr Gould told the Herald the removal of Santa, due to the increasingly expensive installation costs, had been under discussion within the organisation for the last four years.

The decision to retire Santa was decided at a board meeting last week following a vote, Mr Gould said.

"The costs of installation have gone up over the years as the other sources of funding have actually been reduced.

"We use to get funding from the council, from the CBD advisory board and sone other sources. Over the past few years the funding has reduced to the point where the installation costs are just unacceptable.

"Sadly, we cannot justify $180,000 to out Santa up and bring him back down again," Mr Gould said.

The organisation had not discussed what would be done with Santa now it had been retired.

For now it would remain in its Kelston warehouse storage site, Mr Gould said.


....good..we dont want it Wink
Report Spam   Logged
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #245 on: October 23, 2014, 07:05:02 pm »


from The New Zealand Herald....

St James Theatre set to rise again

By WAYNE THOMPSON | 8:14AM - Friday, October 10, 2014

The historic St James Theatre may make a comeback. — Photo: Ollie Dale.
The historic St James Theatre may make a comeback. — Photo: Ollie Dale.

AUCKLAND's mothballed St James Theatre could be in for a rejuvenation, with the category 1-listed historic Queen Street building believed to have been sold to a developer.

The deal is believed to involve restrengthening work and would also allow the buyer to build a 39-level apartment tower and retail complex next door.

The historic venue, which has been seven years in mothballs, is on a separate title from the development site, which is the Queen Street frontage of the former Odeon and Westend cinemas. Owner Paul Doole had resource consent for the development but put it on hold in April 2009.


The old St James Theatre building. — Photo: Brett Phibbs.
The old St James Theatre building. — Photo: Brett Phibbs.

When contacted by The New Zealand Herald yesterday, Mr Doole refused to discuss rumours the St James had been sold.

Last night, a council spokesman said: “The council is involved in ongoing negotiations to secure the future of the St James Theatre and it is a priority for Auckland Council.”

In April, Mr Doole said he had offered to sell the building to the council for its rateable value of $11 million.

He said the St James, which is an oblong shape mainly facing the public library in Lorne Street, could not be built on or over. The consent called for the St James tower to be restored, strengthening of a wall adjoining the theatre and provision for a four-to-five-metre-wide entrance to Queen Street.

In 2010, the cost to the developer of reinforcing the outside walls of the theatre was put at $5 million.


The old St James Theatre building. — Photo: Brett Phibbs.
The old St James Theatre building. — Photo: Brett Phibbs.

The Herald understands the new owner has agreed to do the strengthening work.

Two years ago, the executive director of the Auckland SPCA, Bob Kerridge, formed the St James Charitable Trust so money could be raised from public and private sources towards the restoration, which in 2010 was estimated to cost $50 million.


St James Theatre

July 5th, 1928: Opens with a performance of Archie.

December 26th, 1929: Screens its first film, The Gold Diggers of Broadway.

1987: Kerridge-Odeon sells to Pacer Kerridge Corporation.

1988: Historic Places Trust puts category 1 listing on theatre's interior.

2002: Developer Paul Doole buys St James complex.

May 12th, 2007: Electrical fire in Westend Theatre closes whole complex.

2009: St James Theatre restoration estimated to cost $50 million.


Related news story:

 • St James Theatre rocked like no other


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11340132
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
reality
Guest
« Reply #246 on: October 23, 2014, 08:15:12 pm »

yup
Report Spam   Logged
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #247 on: November 02, 2014, 12:12:42 pm »

yup

Amazing!! “It” can post a single-syllable, three-letter word without overtaxing “its” brain too much!    

Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #248 on: November 02, 2014, 12:13:00 pm »



Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 
Kiwithrottlejockey
Admin Staff
XNC2 GOD
*
Posts: 32233


Having fun in the hills!


« Reply #249 on: November 13, 2014, 01:43:46 pm »


from The New Zealand Herald....

Battle of the berms

By SAM JUDD | 8:19AM - Thursday November 13, 2014

Last year Benjamin Barton planted his Point Chev berm with corn to share with the community. — Photo: Dean Purcell.
Last year Benjamin Barton planted his Point Chev berm with corn to share with the community.
 — Photo: Dean Purcell.


I WENT for a walk the other day in Herne Bay. I saw one berm, out of about 50, that had not been mown. Two local women were pointing at it as they walked past in disgust.

When the next-door neighbour went out (or paid someone else) to mow their berm, it would have taken them a total of two minutes to tidy up the one next to it. But no, they were adamant about their patch only.

It made me think that I would put a wager down to say that every house on that street would either own their own lawnmower (some just for the berms), or they would pay a gardener to come and do it for them.

It makes no sense at all to have over 100 lawnmowers, being operated for under half an hour a month, all in one block. 100 skill saws, 100 drills, generally bought at cheap and low quality because they hardly ever get used. This means they are more dangerous, more likely to break down and rather than get fixed, simply get replaced because they are so cheap.

It is a better idea to have less tools that are high quality, that can be lent out or hired. This is why I like places such as Hirepool, where you know that they will fix any damage, service the tools properly and even teach customers how to use them, because it is part of their business.

I think each suburb of Auckland should have a tool library, with the inventory stored online and a small fee when you use the tools, so that it pays for the maintenance. Hey — we might even then have a good reason to interact with our neighbours! This type of interaction leads to local people with specialist skills doing jobs for people near their houses (reducing traffic and saving time) and generally happier, more connected communities.

I have spoken about this before. At my work, I count myself lucky that we share things on our street. If a neighbour needs to borrow our sander or 6-metre trailer, or if I have had a successful day out fishing, we are more than happy to share. In turn, if I need an extra carpark for an afternoon, or to borrow a concrete grinder the neighbours are more than happy to oblige.

Simply because we talk to each other even though we are busy. The other day when my neighbour knew that I was looking for a large piece of glass for a project, he knocked on my door and offered a piece to me. This saved me a big packet of money, him a big packet of hassle (having to dispose of it) and the environment because it didn't get dumped.

We help each other, that is what the often misused idea of a “community” is all about.

As I continued up the road in Herne Bay, I saw a lonely citrus tree, that someone had defiantly planted on their berm and it gave me some hope that there are people out who realise that being generous to neighbours makes everyone happier.

The fantastic folk at Grey Lynn 2030 have put some great ideas out there to beautify our berms. The tacitly explain that “Berms that are planted with suitable species support local pollination and bird life, reduce stormwater runoff and soil erosion, improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Wouldn't it be great if we chose to make them all raingardens? These systems use native reeds to filter out contaminants from the stormwater system. After the initial investment of setting them up, they require very little maintenance and reduce pressure on the stormwater system, which saves money.

Does anyone out there have some great ideas for what we could do with the berms, or any unused public land for that matter? Ratepayers money around the country often goes towards mowing the grass, could they be better spent?


Sam Judd is an emvironment columnist for The New Zealand Herald.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11357887
Report Spam   Logged

If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 

Pages: 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 [10] 11 12 13 14   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Open XNC2 Smileys
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum


Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy
Page created in 0.068 seconds with 13 queries.