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Potential for faster than expected interest rate cuts from this year is a ray of hope for Hamilton’s sluggish economy but there’s considerable caution from a senior city specialist on the speed of any cuts.

Tainui Group Holdings - owner of the site of Hamilton’s central police station - is opposing a plan for potential restrictions on what can be done with the building after the police lease ends in 2032.Evidence from senior tribe member Rahui Papa - who’s on the Police Commissioner’s Māori Focus Forum - says the station, said to have been built in the mid-1970s, embodies Waikato-Tainui’s “painful past” under colonisation.

A central Hamilton spot that’s been mostly vacant for years is earmarked for a six-storey development.Resource consent has been granted for a 20,000m² building next to Centre Place, at the corner of Ward and Victoria Street and Tainui Group says it’s talking to potential tenants.The site has spent years fenced off with Tainui branded boards and currently comprises an empty lot and the P&M plaza building, which will be removed in preparation for the new development.

Trolleys left lying in streets around a Hamilton supermarket have prompted calls for a daily pick-up service.One local is so sick of seeing them abandoned around Mill Street Pak’nSave - especially in Ulster Street - that he’s been pushing the supermarket for a clean-up for a year.

Squatters living in a shed at the back of a vacant Hamilton site that’s turned into an unofficial dumping ground just won’t leave.The owner has tried everything in his power - from pulling down the steel door to calling the cops - but nothing seems to work at the prominent central city site that’s become an eyesore.

A $100 million Pullman hotel development has been unveiled for Hamilton’s CBD, with work underway and an expected 2026 opening.The 191-bed hotel over 13 levels will involve a retro-fit of the current Mistry Centre, Hamilton’s tallest building at 42-48 Ward St and within the Centre Place shopping area.

The third office tower in Union Square, Hamilton’s newest central business precinct, is likely to get underway in the next six months.Located on a corner block that includes Anglesea, Hood and Alexandra streets, the multi-level development will eventually be made up of five builds, combining 23,000m2 of office space with a number of retail and community spaces including a wellness centre.

Beggars are taking a softly-softly approach at city supermarkets amid tough economic times, yet authorities are still fielding hundreds of complaints about the practice every year.Some people are clearly uncomfortable with encounters outside supermarkets, shops and other sites, with Hamilton City Council acknowledging it gets hundreds of calls over “begging incidents” a year.

A Hamilton company is poised to spread around the globe after selling to a big international firm - and with the founders “too young to retire” yet.Aware Group, based in London St, Hamilton has been bought by Amsterdam business transformation partner, HSO.Brandon Hutcheson and Jourdan Templeton, now 32, set the company up eight years ago and their first customer was Microsoft.

After challenging times, Hamilton retailers hope interest rate cuts will bring then extra customers for Christmas.December has traditionally been a hot month for retail, with Stats New Zealand data showing two decades of card payment values consistently about 37% above the rest of the year.

Denise Irvine is a Hamilton freelance journalist and food writer, and a regular Waikato Times contributor.OPINION: Dinner last Saturday was at the wonderfully colourful ULO’s Kitchen in Raglan. The place that makes you smile with its vintage fit-out, its upbeat music, laden bowls of Japanese fusion food, and memorable cocktails.

Once the heart of each town and city, New Zealand’s high streets have had to overcome many challenges over the years, including the advent of big malls, the rise in online shopping and in working from home, cost of living and inflation. Around the country, our reporters set out to find what has changed in the country’s main arteries, and how retailers are adapting. Waikato Herald’s Danielle Zollickhofer takes a trip up Hamilton’s main street and down memory lane.

The champagne corks are popping at Hamilton Airport after officials confirmed the return of direct international flights to Australia - and a potential boost to the Waikato economy.After months of speculation and more than a year of “solid grind” behind the scenes, Hamilton Airport chief executive Mark Morgan said he could now reveal Jetstar will offer travellers three return flights a week between Hamilton and the Gold Coast, and four return flights a week between Hamilton and Sydney.