Timaru developer's request for changes to Showgrounds consent remains on hold
Sunday, 29 October 2023
An application by the property developer to change the conditions of a subdivision consent for The Showgrounds retail development in Timaru remains on hold, the district council has confirmed.
On September 11, Timaru Mega Centre Ltd Partnership lodged an application with the Timaru District Council to change the conditions of its consent for the property at 233 Evans St.
The council’s planning consultant, John Cook of Christchurch-based Planning Solutions, raised a number of concerns about the application.
Cook sought more information on seven key points, including how a large pile of excavated material would be managed and how infrastructure would be provided for the remaining lots.
He said the council was seeking “financial assurance” that the pile would be remedied, and he suggested a bank guarantee. He also told the developer to consult affected parties including Timaru District Holdings Ltd (TDHL), the registered owner of the land.
On Friday, council communications and engagement manager Stephen Doran said the application remained on hold.
“They [the developer] have not answered all of the questions asked by the planner on behalf of the council,’’ Doran said.
Earlier this month, TDHL confirmed it had given developer Tony Gapes an 8½-month extension to the settlement of two of three remaining lots still owned by the council’s holdings company.
According to the sale and purchase agreement between TDHL and the developer the agreed settlement date for lots 8 and 9 was to be October 12, 2023.
However, TDHL confirmed the new settlement date agreed was June 30, 2024.
At the time, TDHL's general manager, Frazer Munro, said it could have cancelled the settlement on the two lots but decided to allow an extension, adding: “We just want to see him finish it off.”
In October 2019, TDHL signed a sale and purchase agreement with Gapes for 9.9 hectares of the 12ha site. The first stage of the land, which was formerly occupied by the Timaru Showgrounds, was sold to Gapes for $6.4 million.
The original subdivision plans were approved by the council under one scheme, which was given consent on December 11, 2020.
Gapes told The Timaru Herald earlier this month that, if successful, his latest application to vary consent conditions would allow greater flexibility for funding.
He said there had been two main consents issued for the development – a land use consent and a subdivision consent.
“The land use consent requires a staged development to meet current District Plan rules where we cannot have the completed development open until July 2027.
“The subdivision consent that we have has not catered for staging, but we have now asked the council to allow for this.”
At the time, he said the original subdivision consent was for nine titles that would “encompass the nine buildings we are building under our master plan”, as well as a separate title for a lot that would include the car park, access-way and roads.
“We have asked council to vary the subdivision consent to allow for two stages, so we can get the first four titles issued,’’ he said.
The titles were for the stage one buildings that house a Bunnings Warehouse store, a Countdown supermarket, the food and beverage and large-format retail offerings, and another building. Construction was expected to start in the next couple of months once a building consent was issued, he said.
“Having the buildings sitting on separate lots is common for developments of this nature and provides us with some additional flexibility on funding.
“For example, if we look to have different banks involved, we can use the different lots as collateral.”
Gapes said the pile of excavated material, or “Hudson’s Hill” as he referred to it (named after the company’s development manager, Paul Hudson), would be removed.
He said the pile, which could be seen from all sides of the development, was “slowly getting smaller as it is being spread around the site, and should all be gone by May next year”.