Earlier Reading rates relief revealed

The Wellington City Council is closing a loophole that let the United States owners of Reading Central on Courtenay Place get a rates remission for work they failed to do.

The extent of the remission is unknown but a previously-secret agenda for a public-excluded October 2023 meeting, where councillors first agreed to a now-ditched $32 million Reading deal, has appeared online.

“In accordance with council’s rates remission policy, a rates remission of the targeted rates for ‘property under development or earthquake strengthening’ has been provided to Reading,” it said.

Councillor Iona Pannett, who opposed the $32m deal to help Reading reopen and in 2020 authored the council rates remission policy for owners of buildings needing quake strengthening, said she was happy for any building owner to get the remission “as long as they do the strengthening work”.

But companies that took public money had a “moral expectation” to do the work they were meant to. “Being a failing company is not a reason,” she said.

The law needed to change to lift the veil of secrecy over how much of a rates remission Reading got, she said.

The cinema complex was closed in 2019 and, in an effort to get it reopened, the council found itself mired in controversy as it looked to buy the land under the cinema for $32m which the United States millionaire owners would use to reopen it. Accusations against the deal included it being “corporate welfare”, that Reading may not do the work promised and, having lost $150m in three years, may not be able to fund the repairs.

The council pulled out of the deal last week, catching even Reading’s owners by surprise. It was this week revealed that Reading had objected to ratings values on the cinema land and two neighbouring sections and shaved nearly $9m off their values since July 2022.

Now, previously-secret council papers showed that back in October councillors were told in-confidence that Reading International had a previous rates remission specifically targeted at owners developing or quake-strengthening buildings.

Council chief financial officer Andrea Reeves yesterday confirmed Reading received a rates remission in the 2021 to 2022 year that came from the downtown levy it paid. The work was never done and no further remissions were given, she said.

The council’s current policy did not allow for the money to be recovered but the loophole was being changed through the long term plan process. The change would mean owners were only paid after quake-strengthening work was completed.

Mayor Tory Whanau said it was her expectation that “if an organisation receives a rates remission they adhere to the obligations outlined to receive that” but the remission was given according to council policy.

“Whilst we will not be able to recoup the costs of the downtown levy remittance, I’m satisfied that through the [long term plan] process we will be amending this,” she said.

The Post on April 8 asked the council if Reading had been given rates relief and was told by a spokesperson that “the legislation (Rating Act) prevents us from revealing details about individual ratepayers”.

The council this week said that the same legislation blocked it from releasing the amount of the rates remission.

Reading did not respond to questions.