CBD Group calls for pause
Public meeting: Hopeful attendees forced to watch from foyer due to Covid-19 restrictions
Timaru’s CBD Group is calling for the council’s holdings company to ‘‘pause˘ on the sale’’ of land to a developer with plans to create a large retail centre on the outskirts of the town.
A public meeting to address concerns and questions over the development of the˘ proposed retail centre at Timaru’s Showgrounds Hill was held at Caroline Bay Hall at 5.30pm yesterday.
Organised by the Timaru CBD Group, the meeting which was limited to 100 people reached capacity just after it started with some hopeful attendees forced to listen from the foyer due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The meeting was in response to a proposal by Auckland-based developer Redwood QT to turn the 12-hectare site of the former A&P Showgrounds, on Timaru’s Evans St, into a 34,000-square-metre ‘‘retail centre’’.
Timaru CBD Group chairman
Nigel Gilkison was the first of six speakers to address the crowd.
He said the group was not opposed to commercial development but was concerned the council had ignored its own policy, and advice of its own experts and independent experts.
He said there had been no public consultation on the proposed sale and development of the land which was both culturally and environmentally significant. ‘‘We are calling for a pause on the sale of this land.’’ Timaru District mayor Nigel Bowen˘ said he was probably the most conflicted person in the room given the hats he wears as the mayor and also as the owner of a business in the CBD. Bowen˘ said there needed to be a partnership between all parties, working together.
‘‘I want to see the CBD flourish,’’ he said.
Timaru District councillor Allan Booth said the meeting was important as it gave the public a chance to ‘‘air their views which they have been restricted in doing to this stage’’.
Booth said he was concerned about the potential impact of the proposed development of the site, which was the same size as the existing CBD.
Timaru resident Mark Kroening said he attended as he was interested in the health of the region.
Kroening said he had a ‘‘reasonable look’’ at the Showgrounds Hill proposal and said his main interest was in the process and ‘‘the lack of collaboration and community engagement’’.
He hoped the meeting would inform community members and the decision makers about the issue and the ‘‘managing of it’’.
‘‘On that note, I would love a sense of ‘we’re in this together’ and we take our moment here tonight forwards in constructive ways that over time can ensure those best outcomes for the region.’’
Speaking just ahead of the meeting, Action Sports Timaru owner Ferg Hazlett said he had collected about 100 signatures for a petition against the development in the 24 hours before the meeting.
Timaru District Holdings Ltd is still in negotiation with Redwood QT over the sale of the land.
Redwood QT had hoped to begin construction in November this year. It has filed a resource consent with the Timaru District Council, and an independent hearings commissioner will decide whether to publicly notify it.
Others to address the meeting included˘ former Tindall Foundation manager Warren Snow, South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce chief executive Wendy Smith, developer Shaun Stockman and senior planner Gemma Conlon.
‘‘I want to see the CBD flourish.’’ Nigel Bowen