LAWRENCE GULLERY
Mahora retailers facing financial ruin may shut up shop while others are threatening to bill the Hastings District Council for their losses after road works at their shopping centre have already taken four months longer than anticipated.
They claim customers have been driven away and still face the prospect of
another month of chaos.
Yesterday was the last straw for those at the Hastings suburban shopping centre. Their telephone and eftpos connections were cut off after workers on the road upgrade knocked a telephone pole.
Later in the afternoon, some shop owners resorted to ferrying buckets of water to their shops after a pipe was broken and their water supply temporarily shut off.
The council had planned a six-week streetscape upgrade of Mahora's shops in February, but thought it would replace a sewer pipe at the same time. The technology used to remove and replace the pipe failed, causing the delay.
Trucks blocking shops and roads have spelt a downturn in custom for Mahora's small business hub at the intersection of Tomoana and Frederick Sts.
Mahora retailer Rochelle Doyle, who initially campaigned for the precinct's upgrade in 2006, said she was appalled at how the project had been managed by the council and its project leader, MWH.
"I'm extremely frustrated. There are two [retailers] that are threatening to close their doors because of the upgrade over the last six months," Ms Doyle said.
She said businesses who relied on foot traffic had suffered the most.
"It's a hard time to run small businesses in New Zealand at the moment without all of this," she said.
Ms Doyle said she understood work on the sewer pipe should be completed by the end of this week.
"But we have heard this for some months," she said.
"Our focus should be on the retailers because they have lost so much business."
The council's roading manager, Mark Kinvig, and infrastructure manager Jon Muston inspected the site yesterday.
Mr Muston said a decision was made to renew the sewer to prevent digging up the road again in four years' time but the "trenchless technology" used to replace the pipe had failed.
He said the 5m depth of the pipe, shifting ground materials and mechanical failures caused the problems and delays in laying the new sewer pipe.
The sewer works would be completed by Friday and the finishing touches to the road soon after.
"Council thanks the shopkeepers for their patience and understanding," he said.
