Tauranga City Council has notified the Strand Waterfront Redevelopment (“the Proposal”) for the redevelopment of the waterfront area. The Proposal aims to redevelop the City Centre waterfront area including the creation of a multipurpose public open space allowing for recreation, leisure, outdoor events and play spaces.

This will no doubt be an exciting and positive development for the Tauranga waterfront. However, there are some key concerns arising from the Proposal for affected business and local property owners in the area. These include:

  • Suitability of existing car park buildings for hospitality and nightlife patrons;
  • Distance of existing car park buildings from business owners; and
  • Long term parking issues and the flow-on effect of reduced car parking on employers and employees in the area.

The Council is proposing to remove all 339 car spaces located within the redevelopment area to allow for recreation spaces. This can be done as of right, however, these car parks will not be replaced.

The District Plan requires the proposed redevelopment to have 1.5 car parks per 10 people anticipated to be using the site. This needs to be on site. The Council wants to avoid that requirement and it is possible for them to do that if they can show that among other things, that existing on street and off street parking will meet (a) the parking needs of the redevelopment and (b) the displacement of vehicles that are currently parking on the site.

We have real concerns about this because the majority of on street and off street parking:
  • Is not within the immediate vicinity of the Strand
  • Is time limited (on-street)
  • Is not open in the evenings (off-street)

There will be an adverse effect of the Proposal on businesses within the immediate vicinity of the site:
  • due to insufficient car parks in the immediate vicinity (or within the CBD itself) for staff and patrons;
  • for businesses operating at night, the adverse effects are heightened because 758 car park spaces (Elizabeth Street and Spring Street) are not available for use; and
  • increased traffic congestion within the immediate vicinity of the site and the CBD during events.

We are also concerned because the transport studies that the Council relies on are not thorough enough. For instance, no surveys were done on Friday or Saturday nights and we question the “peak hours” they have surveyed during the day.

While we support the Proposal in principle, in light of the above adverse effects above, we do not support the application unless that car parking is replaced at or near the waterfront. We are of the view that consent should be refused unless car parking is provided on site or within the immediate vicinity of the Strand.

We have prepared a submission which set out these issues. If you share these concerns and wish to make a submissions, please contact us to discuss how you can have your say. Submissions close Monday, 14 March 2011

Information on the Proposal can be found on the Tauranga City Council website click here