‘lIt just defies logic’: property professional slams Council decision to do night works on Daly St

TENANTS along Daly St are on the verge of moving out over a ‘lunatic’ Council decision to carry out roadworks during the night. This at a time when the CBD is quiet during the day because of the COVID-19 pandemic

Leading property professional Glenn Grantham has slammed Darwin Council’s decision to carry out Daly St beautification road works at night. Picture: Che Chorley

TENANTS along Daly St are on the verge of moving out of the CBD over a “lunatic” decision to conduct road resurfacing during the night.

Raine & Horne general manager Glenn Grantham, who manages about 20 properties along the street, slammed City of Darwin’s choice to complete asphalt resurfacing along the Esplanade and McMinns St between 7pm and 5am for about three weeks, as part of the Daly St Beautification Project.

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Mr Grantham said the decision was putting landlords at risk of losing tenants, and residents needing rest during the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic.

“(My tenant) is beside herself, she just doesn’t know what to do,” he said.

He questioned why council was not taking advantage of the lack of people in the CBD due to the pandemic.

“You could understand if it was peak dry season, you’ve got tourists everywhere, everybody going back and forth to markets but there aren’t any tourists,” he said.

“Our borders are closed. There would never be a better time to do this during the day … it just defies logic.

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“You’ve got two brand new entry points into Darwin with Garramilla and Tiger Brennan … what is going on here?”

A City of Darwin spokeswoman said it was not feasible to complete the works during the day.

“As a major arterial road in and out of the city Daly St currently carries approximately 20,000 vehicles per day (23,000 outside COVID-19 restrictions) and it is not practical to divert this volume of traffic to lesser roads,” she said.