Garden City Guides scheme to end

Press, 3 July 1985, Page 9

Garden City Guides scheme to end

Christchurch’s Garden City Guides scheme will cease after September 24, when the 12 months of the Labour Department-spon-sored project employment programme is up. The Government has said it will not renew P.E.P. schemes, preferring to phase them out for other schemes. The Christchurch City Council, which has administered the scheme in the last year, will not pick up the tab for the guides. Mr Rowan Gibson, administration officer for the council’s parking division, said the guides had fulfilled their original purpose of

dealing with problems with vehicles and cyclists in the City Mall. Because of their original purpose, the guides came under the auspices of the parking division. In the last 12 months their tasks have widened to include more than vehicles in the mall. The 18 guides on the second six months of the scheme have worked in the city, in New Brighton, and at Queen Elizabeth II Park, providing information for visitors and tours. Mr Gibson said the guides had done an excellent job. The scheme had already been extended once for a second six months.

The council had not considered paying to continue the scheme on its own because it would be a charge on the ratepayer, Mr Gibson said. The scheme could be supported by the Government, however, under the wing of the Minister of Tourism and extended to all big tourist cities. The information kiosks round the central city would be available to anyone who wanted to run a private guides scheme or a scheme based on training guides, he said. Mr Gibson said the present guides had been encouraged to find other jobs. The guides’ supervisor, Mrs Marie Ellis, said that 16 guides were on the scheme at present. Others had found other jobs. The guides have been busy lately assisting with information on ski-ing. They have also worked with the Canterbury Promotion Council and its information centre, and other council departments, including assisting with traffic surveys.