Vet Centre To Avoid Becoming Roadworks ‘Statistic’

Despite being seemingly surrounded by road works, the Tasman St Vet Centre is fighting back this December, says owner David Lloyd.

The last few months have seen the construction of the Countdown supermarket plus road works on Hanson Street, Adelaide Road and Tasman Street itself. Soon the Buckle Street ‘cut and cover’ will start in earnest, which will further disrupt traffic flow around the Centre. The Vet Centre attaracts clients from around Wellington.

“On Saturday we got a letter from the contractor telling us our block was going to be closed for three weeks from Monday” said Mr Lloyd. “We knew it was coming, but it’s still pretty short notice for us to get in touch with Monday's clients to let them know to change their route and allow extra time for their trip. It doesn’t help that the lead up to Christmas is one of our busiest times.”

Problems will continue as the work moves north along Tasman St over the next three weeks. Mr Lloyd said “We are determined not to let it affect our business, nor the excellent care we provide to our patients and cattery boarders.

“We’ve made sure we have communicated with customers as best we can via newsletters and social media, plus we are working with the local church for extra parking and offering all our customers freight free deliveries throughout December. We have learned the lesson of the Newtown retailers who have struggled with clients access recently”.

In October, Newtown’s iconic Ballroom Café closed citing difficulty with customer access due to road works.

“We know the road work needs to be done,” said Mr Lloyd “so hopefully our clients can bear with us for a little bit longer”.

Ends.

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

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