Tidy up our town: Wairoa leaders take aim at ‘poorly maintained’ buildings

Wairoa’s CBD is set for a makeover – with council bosses to contribute towards some spruce-up work and leaving the door open for potential fines for landlords whose properties are in a state of decay.

Ensuring the state of the centre of the northern Hawke’s Bay town is as appealing as possible has been discussed by the Wairoa District Council (WDC).

That includes ensuring those who own buildings on and around its main shopping precinct – Marine Parade – aren’t allowing their properties to fall into disrepair.

“We get a few complaints,” WDC Mayor Craig Little said.

“People love Wairoa but sometimes some of the fronts, not all of them, need to be tidied up a bit.

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“If you want to attract people into your shop, you want them to stop and think ‘That is a nice-looking business, so I’ll whip in there’.

“It is all about helping yourselves and how can we help you do this as well. You don’t want your building falling around you and thinking you will get people through your front door; that is not going to happen.

“People want their main street to look good.”

Little said owner-occupier shops were generally well-maintained in Wairoa.

Wairoa town leaders want to ensure the northern Hawke's Bay location is doing all it can to encourage people to stop and shop there. Photo / Neil Reid

The “biggest issue” involved some buildings that were leased out to businesses, with the off-site owners not wanting to spend “anything” on the general upkeep of the premises.

“That is where we are really struggling,” he said.

Council deliberations over the issue of making sure the Wairoa CBD looked as good as possible occurred at last month’s strategy, wellbeing and economic development committee.

The agenda for the meeting included the WDC’s public safety bylaws and how specifically they could be enforced against building owners in Wairoa who allowed their properties to fall into decay; both structurally, display-wise or via weeds.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little says the issue with unflattering buildings mainly revolves around some locations where landlords aren't paying for upkeep. Photo / Neil Reid

Current fines for different categories range from $500-plus, and an additional $50 a day for continuing offences, right up to $20,000

Little said the latter would only cover the most serious and unlikely cases, such as a shop frontage that could collapse.

Fines were the last thing the WDC wanted to issue, Little said, adding the council hoped they could ensure central Wairoa displayed its best self “by encouragement more than enforcement”.

A council agenda revealed a letter is to be sent to businesses within the CBD “to remind them of their responsibilities in accordance [with] the WDC Public Safety Bylaws”.

They highlighted bylaw clauses in the letter including weed control.

Another clause said owners may not allow buildings “to show signs of disrepair in the form of peeling paintwork, loose brickwork, missing tiles, hanging wires, defunct lights, plaster chipping, mould or algae growth”.

The restrictions also include the possibility for action against any building owners with frontage abutting a public place allowing the “property frontage to be unclean, poorly maintained, or contain weeds, rubbish, accumulated dirt or materials”.

Under bylaws owners must be given 21 days to act.

If they don’t, then they could potentially face legal action.

Little said he hoped owners of buildings that needed a makeover would work on any building issues before bylaw breaches were considered.

Wairoa is a northern Hawke’s Bay town with a population of around 8680. Photo / Neil Reid

The WDC has also adopted a “Breathing new life into Wairoa businesses” initiative, which will see it fund improvements throughout Wairoa – and not just on Marine Parade – to the tune of $300,000 over the next three years.

That funding will contribute towards publicly-owned spaces with amenities.

A council agenda said money wouldn’t pay for work on privately-owned buildings, “although options for loans were discussed”.

“It is a bit of an incentive on how we can do things,” Little said of the funding.

“A lot of people probably disagree with us that you need to have a great front-of-shop facade to get people in.

“But I think if we are going to attract outside people into town, it is [one way] for getting people to stop and shop.”

Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.