Dannevirke: Ideas mooted to revitalise High St

Dannevirke businessman Craig Lancaster (left), in discussion with Tararua District Council chief executive Blair King and Mayor Roly Ellis. Photo/Christine McKay

We had a fabulous lifestyle but empty shops could give the impression Dannevirke wasn't a thriving town, Susan Berry of the Dannevirke Chamber of Commerce told a breakfast meeting.

"We want people to stop, spend money and our town to flourish," she said.

Guest speaker Property Brokers real estate agent Kerry Sutherland said Dannevirke's future would be influenced by chamber members.

"High St is the window of our town and while there were concerns about empty shops and the condition of some buildings, things aren't as dismal as they seem.

"There have been tougher times before. Over the past few months, eight commercial buildings have sold on High St, with the former Evening News building under offer."

Mr Sutherland said three Auckland investors had purchased buildings, along with one Asian and four local owner/operators.

However, how buildings met the earthquake-compliance regulations had influenced sale prices.

"Three buildings were earthquake compliant and sold strongly," Mr Sutherland said. "The balance sold significantly under government valuation, up to half, or even less than half of that value.

"The worst case scenario for an old building is land value, what's inside and the bricks, less the cost of demolition."

But Mr Sutherland said there was a lot of business activity in Dannevirke, with 10 new businesses opening since Christmas.

"Another eight have expanded or changed operator, so 18 is encouraging," he said.

Despite 13 empty buildings, nine of which were at risk, there had been worse times, said Mr Sutherland.

"There's more activity than people may think. In 1991, after the 1990 earthquakes, there were 20 empty buildings on High St and, in 2000, 13 or 14 were empty.

"One of our biggest challenges is how we can make our second tier buildings look good and an asset for our town."

Lianne Simpkin, the Tararua District Council's economic development and communications manager, said there had been a net gain of 60 households, with a 151-person turnaround in net migration, the best result since 1996.

"We've had our best gain of people migrating to Dannevirke from Australia since 1991.

"Dannevirke has a lot to offer and we need a management tool for a strategy and plan for High St."

She added: "First impressions count and we can go through the town to freshen it up, using our Scandinavian theme and promote a buy local campaign. How about asking Resene for some paint then repainting our shabby buildings overnight?"

Craig Boyden, principal for real estate company For Homes For Farms, said he believed the earthquake-prone building situation was overstated.

"We need to encourage people to come here and take advantage of the 8000 cars passing along High St every day."

For businessman Kim Phelps, the big question was how to stop those 8000 vehicles.

"Parking isn't the problem, but we need to slow traffic down so people can see what we offer," he said.

Craig Lancaster, whose business is situated on State Highway 2 south of Dannevirke, said the Tararua Country signs should be used to tell people what was on offer.

"Dannevirke has great cafes and we should be engaging all retailers," he said.

"It's not just focusing on your own business, but working in with others."

A group has been formed to develop a strategy to revitalise High St and they will report back at a future breakfast meeting.