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Oamaru’s commercial accommodation providers could be in trouble if something is not done to counter the effect Airbnbs are having on the industry. Poshtel owner Phillip McNicholl is calling on the Waitaki District Council to take “decisive and bold” action before there are no commercial operators left in Oamaru. There are about 135 Airbnb properties running in Oamaru, but before Covid-19 there had been more than 300. “Each one of those has got two or three bedrooms. That’s equivalent of, you know, 20 Poshtels being built in that period of three years,” Mr McNicholl said. “It’s...

Waitaki flood recovery cost expected to be into the six figures 11 Jan, 2021 07:48 PM 2 minutes to read Water rushes under Parsons Creek Bridge near Otematata last week.Photo / Robert Vaxter Otago Daily Times The Waitaki District Council is expecting at least a six-figure sum for its flood recovery expenses, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher says. The district was hampered by last week's rainfall, and while the council had not received any official figures, it would be "certainly quite appreciable". "It will be into the six figures — NZTA's cost alone is probably $200,000 or $300,000," Kircher sai...