Limited appetite for Pak’n Save development

A new supermarket development that will double as a disaster response and emergency centre in north Christchurch is being opposed by city council planners.

Foodstuffs wants to build a new Pak’n Save on a Main North Rd site, next to its head offices and former distribution centre, but concerns have been raised about traffic, the site layout, safety and pedestrian access.

The new 6890 square metre supermarket would have 278 parking spaces – more than half of them in an underground car park – and a petrol station with eight pumps.

Foodstuffs says it would also be designed as a distribution hub that could provide a ‘‘lifeline’’ of food, water, toiletries and fuel in times of need.

It would be a safe place for the community to congregate after a disaster and the service station could refuel emergency vehicles.

The Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management Group supported the bid, especially the creation of the emergency response centre.

A three-day resource consent hearing before independent commissioner David McMahon is being held this week.

Christchurch City Council transport planner Mark Gregory said he was concerned the proposal included narrowing the public transport corridor on Main North Rd, which was a core bus route.

Fellow planner Nathan Harris said the proposal was contrary to the objectives and policies of the district plan because it would result in the expansion of an area beyond what was intended.

The property is zoned for industrial use and a previous bid by Foodstuffs to have it rezoned for commercial use was declined.

The plan included creating a new intersection with traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing on Main North Rd.

The application was publicly notified earlier this year and 21 people wrote submissions.

Eleven were in support, seven opposed it and three were neutral.

Those supporting the proposal believed it would provide more jobs and be easier to access than the existing Pak’n Save at nearby Northlands Mall, which would be converted into a New World.

Neighbouring company Oil Changers wanted the supermarket to go ahead because it believed it would benefit their business.

The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch,

which plans to build a new Marian College behind the site, also supported the build because it believed a supermarket was a better use of the land rather than the permitted industrial activity.

New Zealand Transport Agency and Environment Canterbury have both opposed the development. They have concerns about traffic and public transport.

Foodstuffs said the move would develop a site that was home to several run-down, asbestos-riddled buildings.

The regeneration of the site would provide a more welcoming and inviting edge to Main North Rd, it said.