Sign-off sought for Riverside enclosure
Creating a year-round outdoor dining area at Christchurch’s Riverside Market will be vital for businesses in the popular complex this winter, its general manager says.
However, the proposed outdoor enclosure has yet to get final approval from Christchurch City Council.
Riverside Market wants to build a 46-metre-long by six metre wide canopy with a plastic louvred adjustable roof across the front of the market on Oxford Tce.
It already leases 171 square metres of pavement from the council for its outdoor dining area, but now wants to erect the enclosure to provide yearround shelter for diners.
The council’s existing policy does not allow for structures of this kind to be built, but the council can approve an exception to the policy, which it unanimously decided to do at a meeting yesterday.
The council decided to allow head of transport Richard Osborne to decide whether to approve the enclosure application.
Council staff said the public street enclosures policy was not fit for purpose in a post-earthquake environment and was due for review.
Riverside Market general manager Rachel Gould said it was vital to its businesses and eateries that an an allyear environment was created.
She said it was important those businesses had a good winter, especially after the impact of Covid-19.
‘‘The enclosed outdoor area will
activate this part of the city, which benefits businesses in the CBD.’’
The $200,000 structure would take about eight weeks to complete.
Transparent screens would also provide protection in adverse weather and planters would be positioned along the enclosure.
A 2.5m footpath would remain between the building and the enclosure.
A clear four-metre path would be maintained on the other side for service and emergency vehicles.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel said Osborne has her full blessing to approve the facility.
She said Riverside Market was fantastic and had transformed that part of the city.
‘‘I went past there over Easter weekend, and it was jam-packed.
‘‘Thousands of people were in the area enjoying themselves.’’
She was grateful for what Riverside’s owners and developers, Richard Peebles, Kris Inglis and Mike Percasky, had done in creating the complex.
Cr Mike Davidson said while the project looked like a good one, he was concerned about private businesses taking over the public realm and people being squeezed into a small corridor.
But Cr Aaron Keown said if this was what businesses creeping into the public space looked like, then it should happen more across the city because there were a lot of dead public areas out there.
Cr Sara Templeton said Riverside was a good example of what could happen when on-street parking was removed.