‘We own the land’ says developer

If the Hutt City Council wants high-rise apartments and a promenade in Daly St facing the Hutt River, it should first talk to the landowners, say developers Graeme Cromie and Peter Savage.

That is the response from a local developer to a possible design featured on the front page of the Hutt News. The riverbank project is part of the Making Places strategy and is dependent on a $143 million Hutt River stopbank upgrade and a new $30 million Melling Bridge.

Cromie and Savage own three prominent plots of land in Daly St and earlier in the year gave the council a July deadline to bring negotiations to a head.

Cromie said the cost of holding the land was significant. With dates for the proposed council projects years away, forging ahead with less grand designs than envisaged by council was a real possibility.

Selling the land to council so it could control

‘‘They are telling everyone 'this is what we are going to build' but they do not own the land.’’

the future development was also a possibility. ‘‘$10 million might buy it,’’ Cromie said. Council chief executive Tony Stallinger said the promenade image featured in recent news articles was a representation of what ‘’could’’ be.

Cromie was frustrated the deadline passed without a response. He supported what the council was trying to achieve and believed developing the area was a priority for the city.

Developers, however, needed more certainty and a concrete date for when the project could proceed.

‘‘They are telling everyone ‘this is what we are going to build’ but they do not own the land.’’

Stallinger offered to meet but Cromie believed it was a political issue and Mayor Ray Wallace had to take the lead.

Central Ward candidate Simon Edwards had spoken to Cromie and could see his point of view. said developers needed certainty. He hoped the council would sit down with Cromie to find a solution that would benefit the city.

The council should also look at rates relief to help with the holding costs.

The council had already purchased land in southern High St to facilitate a hotel and Edwards believed that would be justified in this case.

Deputy Mayor David Bassett rejected any suggestion the council has been ‘‘diddle daddling’’ with developers and believed it has done everything possible to keep them informed.

Building quality apartments was a priority but until the regional council set a timeframe for the floodway project, it was impossible to provide Cromie the certainty he wanted l.

Central Ward candidate Mark Leicester said it was all very well to have a vision but the right people needed to be involved to implement it.

That was one of the reasons, he was standing for council.

Stallinger said the council regularly met with developers and planned to continue to do so.

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