Club News NBA

 

President Dave expressed sympathy on behalf of the Club to Ross George on the death of his wife, Margaret.

 

Garden Design Fest is this weekend. Thanks to prospective volunteers, and Boyne & Paul especially for the enormous amount of work and planning involved.  

 

 

Our speaker was Mark Knoff-Thomas, Chief Executive, accompanied by Kelly Fulford, Commercial Manager. Mark provided us with his annual update to the Club on the Newmarket commercial area.   The Association works directly with the town administration and the Community Development Corporation to promote Newmarket to existing and potential businesses. We had a smaller attendance than the occasion merited.

 

Mark paid tribute to our own Di Goldsworthy who has just retired from the Association. He was generous in his comments about her enormous contribution - working at the Association with five executives over the last 18 years.

 

His summation of the last twelve months was as a roller coaster. After two years of Covid there had been some real hardships and some business casualties.  Retail leasing remained challenging. Against this, with Westfield enjoying its first fully operational Christmas shopping season, the year was heading to be the best commercially ever. The hospitality sector was recovering. He outlined potential apartment and town house developments that would help rejuvenate residential areas.

Security remained the biggest headache, with – as elsewhere......

- major outbreaks of criminal and antisocial behaviour. Some of the offenders were very young indeed. New CCTV networks had been installed and would be extended, but such measures were placing undue pressures on an already overstretched Association budget.

 

In passing, Mark mentioned the Crowded Places strategy which is a very helpful self-assessment resource. www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/crowdedplaces-strategy-30092020.pdf    Well worth a look.

 

A lively question time followed on such matters as Station Square, the Mayor, the Grammar Zone, Cameras and Graffiti.