Retailers are struggling to exist in the CBD as seen by the large number of empty shops, and fewer shops mean fewer people visiting.
On the positive side, the CBD now has the support of hardworking councillors Terry Molloy and John Robson, who appear to be making excellent progress towards helping make the CBD retail competitive with other shopping centres by making the parking user-friendly and by making better use of the available bus services.
(Abridged)
Bill Campbell
Tauranga
Tauranga South becoming an industrial area
Maureen Stark (Letters, October 22) writes about the encroachment of businesses in residential areas.
I live in Devonport Rd – between 15th and 16th Avenue – and all week (where there are no yellow lines) cars, parked, clog up nearby roads from, mainly, perhaps the biggest business in Tauranga, the Tauranga Hospital. Also, many businesses such as dentists, physios and hairdressers have moved into houses and set up shop, and it's getting worse.
Near my house, there are four or five businesses: a building company and three childcare businesses. All these have employee cars. Plunket has about 10 or 12.
So, the continual comings and goings of the traffic from all of these are a continual nuisance.
I visited the council a couple of years ago and asked how a person can buy a house and turn it into a business in a residential area.
The answer was as long as they get a resource consent, it's okay.
Is where I live zoned residential or not? The person who issues these resource consents should come and live here. Perhaps, then, they would not be so casual with their rubber stamp.
Tauranga South is becoming a widespread industrial area.
Angela Dold
Tauranga
National just attention-seeking
The National Party is merely attention seeking.
You have to admit that, for entertainment value, they now have First Baby Neve in spades.
Chris Brown
Tauranga
