Mike and Kerry Meehan say they've had great feedback from those who have visited their garden centre, but had hoped sales would start to pick up. Photo / Leanne Warr
Mike and Kerry Meehan say they've had great feedback from those who have visited their garden centre, but had hoped sales would start to pick up. Photo / Leanne Warr
A local couple are questioning water restrictions, saying the problem is affecting their business and making them second-guess their decision to move to Dannevirke.
Kerry and Mike Meehan relocated their plant nursery Little Gems from Waipukurau last year, but since the Tararua District Council put water restrictions in place, businesshasn't been booming.
"It's put us in quite a difficult position because it's not only the fact that we can't water our plants. Our customers can't either. It's also concerning that if we don't have the customers, we don't have the sales," Kerry said.
The couple moved in November, having purchased the Laws Road property in October.
The owners of the garden centre can't understand why there are still water restrictions, meaning people aren't buying plants because they can't water their gardens. Photo / Leanne Warr
Kerry said the nursery was usually quiet in summer, but now that it was autumn, sales should be picking up, but they weren't.
"It's just making us rethink," Kerry said.
"When I looked at the property, back in October, I emailed [Tararua] council and said I want to move my garden centre and nursery to Laws Road, do I need anything, what do I need to know?"
She said she got a reply back from the council which told her she was zoned for rural and commercial farming and was given a copy of the bylaws, which she read thoroughly.
But nothing was ever mentioned about the water issues, particularly the dam.
"I bought the property because it's got a connection, and that was one of our concerns, because our Waipukurau property didn't have water. We had to go to the standpipe and get our water every day. So having a property with a secure water line was first on the list. From my understanding the reservoir had issues, but it's fixed."
Kerry chose Dannevirke because she had heard that it rained more here than in Waipukurau and tended to be cooler.
So she couldn't understand what the problem was with water restrictions and why many residents couldn't water their gardens.
Little Gems garden centre moved from Waipukurau to Dannevirke late last year. Photo / Leanne Warr
She said the feedback from the community had been fantastic.
"Everybody's come in and they've had a look and everyone likes the place. That side of things has been brilliant."
She didn't want to get offside with the council but questioned why the possibility of growth wasn't included in long-term plans.
"Isn't it [their] job to get the region to try and prosper? And attract people and develop?"
She also questioned why water appeared to be sourced from only one river and why the consent didn't seem to match up with what the town needed, asking whether that was a conversation council needed to have with Horizons Regional Council.
Kerry said she had no issues with trying to source her own water, but she was in a Catch-22 where she needed the funds to do so, but also needed an income to be able to service the debt she would incur.
"I've got three kids to feed. What's our future if we can finance doing this, but if people can't garden then what do we do?"
Mayor Tracey Collis said the council was very appreciative of the Meehans' decision to move and set up a business here, and would continue to support them.
"Many businesses are experiencing a real downturn at the moment due to the current economic environment and the Omicron outbreak. This has led to many people in our community deciding to stay and work from home to stay safe."
She said it was hoped once the peak of Omicron had hit, there would be a noticeable difference.
The new Manawatū-Tararua highway was one catalyst, along with people leaving the big cities and finding value in the regions.
Collis said most areas in New Zealand had growth that exceeded their projects and that impacted schools, hospitals and housing.
"Council's assets have a 30-year plan but as our district's population was initially in decline we could not plan for growth."
She said when that changed, council quickly identified the need to plan and had started to develop a growth strategy.
Most dry summers would require councils to implement a degree of water restrictions.
Collis said she had spoken with the Meehans about council's consultation on supporting water resilience through the purchase of water tanks and suggested this could be something they should explore further.
"It is always our aim to work with our people for the best solution. Our challenge is the legacy water users which are in every town in the Tararua District and how do we ensure that properties on the extraordinary supply are able to play their part in reducing water use during dry conditions.
"We do need people on the extraordinary supply to play their part and reduce water use in the same way our residents within the town boundary do. We need to all use water wisely as our climate changes and look to increase personal resilience outside the town boundaries.
"Council is currently working on a number of initiatives to address the issue of ongoing water restrictions, and we have already began consulting with the community on some of these tools."
She said it was important that we continued to work together.
"Right now people matter most and we continue to balance the needs and requirements of all for the best outcomes. Having a local voice is an important part of the Three Waters reform for this very reason."
