Lansdowners rally to save their butcher

FIGHT: Dave Gallagher of Lansdowne Butchery (Gourmet Meats) is fighting to keep his business alive. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Concerned Lansdowne residents are pushing to keep their local butcher, whose business has suffered because of street works in his vicinity.

Master Butcher and owner of Lansdowne Butchery (Gourmet Meats) Dave Gallagher said his business was badly affected by the lack of foot traffic and parking during the water main upgrade in First St earlier this year and is worried his business may not survive an upcoming sewer main upgrade.

"We had the water main repaired or fixed or replaced or whatever and basically with how long it took, it really affected my business," Mr Gallagher said.

"It was supposed to be like a day or so and it ended up being six days outside my shop.

"It was weeks and months on the actual street though, so it didn't just affect me, it affected everyone else too, particularly the businesses that require people to come to them through foot traffic and parking.

"Hard on the heels of this finishing I got a letter from another company saying they were going to do the sewer main and I said, 'Well that's me buggered'.

"I need the parking. If I don't have parks, people don't stop, and that's the same as what you see in town. You see it everywhere.

"If there's no park, you don't stop."

Earlier this month loyal customers of Lansdowne Butchery Keith and Adrienne McClure dropped 400 letters into mailboxes from Opaki to Totara and surrounding areas.

"We both have concerns for the butcher," Mrs McClure said.

"We need to be keeping Dave in business and more importantly keeping him in Lansdowne.

"We printed 400 letters and dropped them into mailboxes in the Lansdowne area from Opaki through to Totara to try to drum up more business for him."

The McClures wrote in their letter: "Retailing is a tough job these days. The upgrade of the water main in First Street impacted on their business.

"Gourmet Meats was affected. Dave needs the support of all residents. If you haven't tried his meat then we suggest you do so. He provides a quality product with first-rate knowledge.

"Use it or lose it. We want to keep him here."

Mr Gallagher was thankful for the letters the McClures wrote and delivered.

"I've got absolutely fantastic loyal customers and what I got from Keith and Adrienne was just overwhelming, so amazing," he said.

"And they're right. It is tough. And if we don't have the parking, we have a disruption.

"The business will fail because you've got to have people come through.

"And it's not just me. It's everyone in First St that gets affected by the roadworks."

Mr Gallagher said the contractor who had notified him of the upcoming sewer mains work has asked the council to postpone the work in First St to allow for affected businesses to recover from the water mains upgrade.

"Luckily the guy that is in charge of the sewer mains came and spoke to me and said that, 'It's just not on, we'll defer it, we'll wait, and we'll try to do it at night, we'll try to have minimal disruption'," he said.

"I know he did go to the council saying he wants to defer it and that they want to work at night but I think the council are not keen on that idea. They just want it done. But at the end of the day, council has got to work hand in hand with business, and that's not what's happening.

"Because they say, 'We're going to do it', but they don't consult. They're actually working for us, and they should be consulting not just the business owners but also every person that pays their wages - the ratepayers. And that's not being done."

Masterton District Council's manager of assets and operations David Hopman said the council would work with businesses regarding the sewer renewal. "We have some options around working in the evenings, but night work is not possible due to residential properties."