Proposed Invercargill City Council CBD block investment draws differing views

Tuesday, 16 July 2019

Neighbouring Retailers Group, representatives from left, Paula Winslade, Richelle Holland, Ben Fokkens and Bernie Brown, speak to councilors at the submissions hearing into whether the council should invest up to $30 million into HWCP's CBD block development.

An inner city Invercargill retailer of 54 years says it is difficult to remain upbeat about the state of the CBD and he fully backs Invercargill City Council investing in a major CBD development.

Councillors are this week listening to public submissions in regard to if the Invercargill City Council should invest up to $30 million into HWCP Management Ltd's proposed CBD block development.

The hearing started on Tuesday and will continue into Wednesday.

There were varying views presented on day one, with some opposed to any council investment, while others believed the council should invest but have asked for changes to the plans to provide more community benefits other than just a retail and food and beverage precinct.

* CBD block development: Safety concerns following building break-ins

* Scaffolding put up on Invercargill building to protect pedestrians**

It included requests for more community spaces within the block for people to congregate or play, or at least green space areas connected to the block.

Others declared their outright support for council investment as the proposal stands.

Included was the Neighbouring Retailers Group, which represented 24 CBD businesses.

The NRG was represented at the hearing by Ben Fokkens (Shoe Clinic), Bernie Brown (McKnight and Brown), Richelle Holland (Les Sheikh Hair Design), and Paula Winslade (Whitcoulls).

Their message was that the heart of Invercargill was dying and backed the proposed development to help fix it.

'I've been in retail for 54 years in the CBD and I'm one of the survivors you might say, one common thing has been the decline of the CBD and we have an opportunity now to address that decline,' Brown said.

'We are small retailers and are at the coal face day in day out, we are meeting and greeting visitors and locals and getting feedback.

'It has become increasingly difficult to remain upbeat about the environment around the inner city.'

Other submitters agreed a CBD development would be good but believed it should not be the ratepayers who pay for it.

Invercargill lawyer Jeffrey Walker said it was a commercial development and not a core council activity.

Walker also believed the benefits for the city from the project had been overstated.

'For example, 300 permanent retail and hospitality jobs. I simply don't believe there will be 300 additional jobs to those which existed in the block beforehand.'

'The [council] website says if the council does not invest this project might not go ahead. Well if that is the case, so be it, it didn't have the legs to fly.'

Meanwhile, at the hearing Invercargill-based Medispace project director Mark Simmons confirmed his business was behind the proposed medical centre earmarked within the block.

The planned medical centre was not part of the block which the council was weighing up whether to invest in. It was a separate stage of the project.

Medispace was behind a proposed medical hub for the corner of Tay St and Deveron St but the project was abandoned in 2017 following the Invercargill Citizens Bowling Club's petition to council to let them remain at the site.

The company was now eyeing the CBD block for a medical hub in Invercargill.

'Medispace sunk a six-figure sum into the pre-work for that [corner of Tay St and Deveron St] project in the expectation that it would happen, it was disappointing that it didn't.

'But we are now similarly involved …. with the proposal that is on the table and we hope that if that goes ahead we will be able to make a positive contribution to our home town.

'If it doesn't we have a substantial pipeline of work in other centres which will keep us busy for some time.'