Business Press 2022-23
Auckland business owners complained of foul smells, sewage, for months before sewer line
Stuff 29 Sept 2023
The collapse of a sewage pipe below St Georges Bay Rd came as no surprise to Parnell business owners, who say they have been putting up with foul smells and sewage on their properties for months.
Auckland sewer sinkhole: ‘Size of a tennis court’ – 13m deep, waste water overflow closes beaches
A main Auckland sewer line has collapsed, causing a massive tomo (sinkhole) to open up, with wastewater overflow pouring into the harbour and closing the city’s beaches.
The 13-metre-deep hole descends to a 2.1m-wide collapsed brick pipe below a private property on St Georges Bay Rd in Parnell that serves Central Auckland and West Auckland.
Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson has described the sinkhole as “the size of a tennis court”, saying the damage is the result of severe weather and lots of rain.
Auckland council cut spending on stormwater repairs and maintenance before Janaury’s catastrophic floods
Plans were under way at Auckland Council to cut spending on stormwater repairs and maintenance shortly before the catastrophic January 27 floods, official papers show. What’s more, it was the second year in a row that the council’s Healthy Waters division had come up with cuts to stormwater maintenance and repairs as part of budget savings.
Claims of blocked drains and reduced cleaning of stormwater pipes were blamed for making the flooding worse during the one-two punch of the Auckland Anniversary weekend and Cyclone Gabrielle storm events.
Six months after the Auckland floods – where are the answers?
Retailers along The Strand in Parnell suffered enormous damage from the severe rain and floods that hit Auckland on January 27.
Many of the affected premises were high-end home decor retailers, some of which are still not trading. The way each business dealt with its predicament was individual as much as it was collective. Some businesses experienced limited damage, either due to the type of stock (outdoor furniture for example) or due to various height levels within the store.
Cyclone Gabrielle: Flood-hit Parnell businesses play ‘waiting game’ again
Home decor stores on the Strand in Parnell say they are playing “a waiting game” ahead of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Parnell Business Association general manager Cheryl Adamson said home decor retailers were “the worst hit” by severe flooding among businesses in the area in recent weeks.
While stores on the Strand “suffered in varying degrees”, Adamson said, businesses are concerned about the possibility of another flood.
Auckland needs a colonic irrigation
Excuse the metaphor, but what we have experienced in the last week reminds me of a very bad bout of diarrhoea, caused by consistently ignoring the obvious signs.
In one small corner of Parnell, we typify a microcosm of selective blindness with regard to risk, as well as experiencing all the silos that operate within the council “family”, all of which make the emergency response that bit more challenging to deal with.
The high-end home decor category has always been a proud attraction for Parnell, and many of our beautiful stores have faced devastating losses since the heavy rain on Friday evening.
$300m Auckland retirement village plans stall: falling house values, rising building costs
Falling house prices and rising building costs have prompted a $2 billion developer to stall plans for a controversial new eight-building $300 million high-rise Auckland retirement village.
Scott Scoullar, chief executive of Summerset Group with a $2 billion market capitalisation and $5.4b in assets, said plans to build the scheme announced two years ago were delayed due to changing circumstances.
“Following a new construction cost estimate for the Parnell village, we have decided to put it on hold while we undertake a review,” he said.
John MacDonald: Don't overthink repeat offender crackdown
When it comes to having a view or an opinion it can, sometimes, come down to what you really think versus what you think you should think. I suppose a better way of putting it is “head versus heart”. Or “logic versus gut instinct”.
And this is how I’m feeling after reading an opinion piece written by Cheryl Adamson, who is the general manager of the Parnell Business Association, in Auckland.
She’s calling out the Government, saying that it needs to start weighing up the cost of not locking up repeat criminal offenders against the cost that’s being placed on businesses and the wider community, as a result.
Cheryl Adamson: Time to consider direct costs of crime
With crime seemingly on the increase in the Auckland CBD, it’s time the Government began to count the cost to retailers. Tinkering around the edges with remediation is all very well, but retailers are still forking out.
In the last week of October, there were 14 ‘’emergency glass’’ boards in Parnell, a depressing amount for a small suburb. Of those, three had been burglaries, but the balance had been wilful damage to high-end decor and gallery premises, with seemingly no motive besides smashing a large pane of glass with a hammer.
Auckland mayoral candidates give Government’s intensification plans a roasting
The next Mayor of Auckland could make life difficult for the Government’s intensification plans across the city and the controversial Erebus memorial in Parnell.
Three of the four main mayoral candidates last night said they wouldn’t stand for Government-imposed directives to allow for higher density housing, leading to the loss of kauri villas and bungalows.
The issue came up at a mayoral debate held by the Parnell and Newmarket business associations and attended by about 150 people at the historic Jubilee Building in Parnell.
How one Parnell business was saved by the internet
When Covid first hit, The Fantail House – a locally produced artisan gift and homeware store – was slammed. With 75% of its turnover being from tourists and only 25% from domestic customers, the Parnell-based retailer had been reliant on international customers to drive business.
For many small to medium enterprises (SMEs) who were in a similar position – with no online shopping platform or budget to pay for one – the emergence of Covid presented a steep learning curve.
Auckland ram raids: Parnell Liquorland manager shocked by CCTV footage as thieves steal alcohol, Peanut Slabs
The manager of a liquor store targeted by ram raiders has been left shocked by what CCTV footage revealed. The in-store camera captured the three-minute crime spree as a group drive a vehicle slowly up the front entrance steps before smashing through the doors of the Liquorland in Parnell.
“I thought it would be a ram raid as in physical force being used,” store manager John Trail told Focus.
“But it was just slow steady pressure, these are pretty solid doors they managed to get through.”
Ram raids, Government announces support package for businesses
A long-awaited helping hand for shop owners hit hard by ram raids has been announced this morning.
The Government has detailed support for businesses after a recent spate of burglaries involving vehicles being driven through storefronts, many involving young people.
Parnell Business Association general manager Cheryl Adamson told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking that she would welcome any government initiative that tackled retail crime. “We’ve been nagging for this for almost 18 months ,” she said.
She hoped that the package announced would be straightforward and easy for retailers to apply to.
Government’s $6m ramraid package ‘too little too late’, business owners say
The Government is paying for bollards and security for dairies and other small businesses, as the police minister concedes ramraids are on the rise.
Police Minister Poto Williams said the Proceeds of Crime Fund would pay for $6 million worth of bollards and other barriers to prevent ramraids.
But Dairy Owners Association crime spokesperson Sunny Kaushal slammed the funding, immediately saying it was “too little too late”.
Parnell Business Association Welcomes Funding support for businesses to protect against ram raids
Newstalk ZB Mike Hosking breakfast 26 May 2022
The Government is expected to announce funding for security measures that protect businesses from ramraids.
Parnell Business Association’s Cheryl Adamson told Mike Hosking any form of support is welcome.
She says businesses have been crying out for ram raid security funding for 18 months, and hopes they’ll be given cash for things like security grills, bollards, glass and barriers.
Parnell Business Association Welcomes Funding For Ram Raid Prevention
The Parnell Business Association welcomes the announcement from Police Minister Poto Williams that the Government is investing in crime prevention for our small retailers, including the installation of bollards and other structures to protect against ram raids.
The $6 million pot from the Proceeds of Crime Fund will help tackle retail crime and be welcomed by retailers, who will work closely with police to find solutions, but it’s just a start to remediating the problem, says Parnell Business Association (PBA) general manager Cheryl Adamson.
