“Poor response’ to creche

Press, 30 November 1978, Page 10

“Poor response’ to creche

j A poor financial response from New Brighton businessmen may force the Christchurch City Council to carry a big de'ficit if the proposed shoppers’ creche is to go ahead. On Tuesday, the council’s community services committee said there was an urgent need for the creche. A possible future annual deficit of $12,500 should be met by the council, it said. But the committee said that the Mayor (Mr H. G. Hay) should also get businessmen together to persuade them that their money should help reduce the deficit. So far, only about S2OOO for this year have been pledged by businesses, many of them small ones in the i mall area. A S2OOO grant has ; also been made from special recreation and community development funds. Those contributions would hold the first year’s deficit to about SBSOO, but it would

Hrise in the future. Cr N. G. Hattaway did not) i agree that the council should j assume responsibility for the deficit before stronger efforts to get financial support from businesses that would i obviously benefit from the creche service. “I am frankly disappointed . that the response from businessmen has not been greater,” he said. Cr Vicki Buck said it was an oversight that a creche was not part of original mall planning. Such a fac- : I ility should be part of any i future mall development. i Cr M. R. Carter said that such facilities should be a'j responsibility of taxpayers,! j through the Government, |, 'rather than another loading;; ion ratepayers. < ; The committee’s chairman < j (Cr D. F. Caygill) said that e might be so, but the creche s was needed now, and Gov- '< " 4 ernment financial support!‘ for creche deficits was not I available. i 1