Too late to save Timaru’s CBD from threat of outlying development, candidate says

Saturday, 27 September 2025

The threat posed to Timaru’s CBD by a plan to carve up a retail development on the outskirts of the town to offer smaller leases was one of the hot issues at this week’s meet the candidates event.

Hosted by the Timaru North Rotary Club, the event on Wednesday night gave voters in the Timaru ward the chance to hear from 11 of the 15 candidates standing for council, and two of the three mayoral candidates, one of whom was in the former group.

The event, which was run in three sections with introductions from candidates, quick-fire questions and an opportunity for attendees to speak to candidates face-to-face, was well-attended, filling Timaru’s West End Hall.

The organisers ran a tight-ship with mayoral candidates given seven minutes to speak, and council candidates four.

Mayoral and council candidate Stu Piddington and council candidate Stacey Scott put in apologies, while council candidate Peter Burt, who is seeking a fifth term, did not attend.

Increasing rates, council spending and debt, central government interference and possible centralisation of services, and the Theatre Royal and Strathallan Cnr redevelopments, were also, unsurprisingly, hot topics.

Many of the candidates wheeled out the same speeches, or variations on them, delivered at an event hosted by Federated Farmers South Canterbury branch last week.

But some came armed with new information in the hope it might secure them a few votes, and with just 13.36% of votes placed, as of Wednesday morning, candidates had plenty of potential votes to win.

One of those who delivered an entirely new speech was perennial candidate Stu Jackson who came out swinging.

He started off with a joke about how long it had taken the council to complete the $1.6 million Strathallan Cnr upgrade, which was originally expected to be completed in July, when Oceania built a $200m factory at Glenavy on budget and just three days late.

Timaru’s slippery tiles were next up, with Jackson saying information he had obtained from ACC showed 93 soft tissue injuries and 10 fractures had been reported in the past 18 years.

His next target was signage, holding up a photo of the council’s new parking signs on Stafford St which he said had cost $375 each.

“$26,500 for 70 signs,’’ he said.

“Now you might think, ‘oh well, we need those’ but when you see how many of them they stuck down the street – it’s probably another $200,000 to put them up.’’

Jackson then turned his attention to fellow candidate Peter Burt’s speech at a candidate meeting last week, saying “a lot was made … about what you have to know” to be on the council.

“You’re not going to learn that stuff ‘til you actually get on there … I’d just like to be given the opportunity,” Jackson said.

First-time candidate Jason McDouall, who did not attend last week’s event, told the crowd the current council had done a good job, but he believed there were areas that could be improved on.

Asked about what he would do to ensure young people had a future in Timaru, McDouall said he worked with young people and would like to work on ensuring young people knew they had a future in the town. He said while they could go and do an OE, the town should “make it clear to them that we want them to come back”.

He said the council should organise business expos, and encourage partnerships between businesses and educational institutions.

“We can support skill development and drive innovation,’’ he said

Continuing with the musical theme started last week, Ian Hanley opened in song this week and urged the crowd to get out and support the arts by attending shows and exhibitions.

Citing a quote from Sir Geoffrey Palmer, he said “if ordinary people take a close interest in their council, then those councils will improve”.

“The people should be in charge,’’ he said.

Hanley also asked constituents to ensure they held the council accountable throughout the three-year term.

Sange Malama got a few laughs when she said she had grown up in Timaru and her favourite shop was DEKA.

Arguably getting the loudest applause of the night for her personal statement, Malama said she would represent change and promised to work with the community.

“We need people who understand budgets, but we need people who understand people.

“I want everyone to feel like they can eat at this table too.”

One of the other big displays of approval on the night was for Hadleigh Oudemans who left the crowd under no illusion as tohis approach when asked if he would hold roading contractors accountable for the state of repairs, giving a one word answer “abso*******lutely”.

Asked if council should concentrate on core responsibilities, a notion pushed by central government, Owen Jackson said the council had a mandate to deliver an 80/20 mix of core essentials and social infrastructure and said it had neglected the latter in the past.

Asked what protection could be given to the CBD over the possible inclusion of 11 100m2 shops at The Showgrounds development, John Bolt said he thought the damage had already been done.

Bolt said those that had allowed the development at all had contributed to a split in the town. He would have voted against that.

He preferred to see old buildings demolished and the CBD redeveloped to keep the original town centre in its place.

Graeme Wilson also waded into the issue, saying he was shocked to hear smaller-sized leases were being considered for Stage 2 of the development labelling that “another knife into the CBD” a comment met with applause from the floor.

Asked whether he would support an upgrade of the CBD and its footpaths, Chris Thomas said once the Theatre Royal redevelopment, which he supported, was completed, it would be a great platform to help build the area back up again.

Thomas, whose campaign has focused on the needs of the district’s growing ageing population, also said the slippery tiles were an issue and needed a solution.

An at times vocal advocate of the CBD, Stu Jackson joked that he had not written any of the questions asked, before responding to a question about nitrate levels and whether the community had been told the truth. Jackson said the levels were too high and he can’t believe they “dump cows in the middle of the Waitaki River”.

Asked her thoughts on the fluoridation of water supplies, longtime nurse Anah Aikman said she was new and would want to ask about the pros and cons and have conversations before making a decision, but added she understood there were a lot of people against it.

Aikman said community wellbeing was removed as a council mandate this year, and she believed it was a priority to encourage collaborative decision-making.

“Community wellbeing enhances engagement, participation, positivity, and empowers productivity, sustainability and longevity,’’ she said.

In response to a question about how he would honour the Treaty of Waitangi if elected, Ethan Richardson said he did not see a need for Māori wards given the size of the population, but would want to see the good relationship with local iwi continue.

“The council would not have the authority it does if it were not for that treaty,’’ he said.

“There is a certain amount of respect that needs to go there as a two-way street.’’

He said iwi wanted to communicate on issues that they cared about.

Quizzed on his thought about a unitary authority covering the area between the Rangitata and Waitaki rivers, mayoral and council candidate Peter Bennett said he would prefer to have neighbours rather than combining all the councils.

Bennett, Standing for both the mayoralty and council, Bennett said since he stood in front of the community seeking a seat at the table three years ago, they had been ripped off through rate increases.

The new public toilets at Strathallan Cnr were a classic example “showcasing the mayor and council’s three-year term’’, he said.

“$1.6m with a $300,000 donation from the [Government] fund, less toilets, and many ratepayers unhappy,’’ Bennett said.

Seeking a third term as mayor, Nigel Bowen identified centralisation as one of the big challenges ahead for councils and said there were too many decisions being made in Wellington.

Bowen said previous councils has scrimped and saved and had not invested in infrastructure and had he wanted to be popular he could have kept rates low and taken the same approach instead of tackling the challenge of ageing infrastructure.

“The past six years have been about tackling that challenge, it may not make a flashy headline but we have delivered record investment and critical core infrastructure, water plants, Pareora pipeline, a second pipeline to Washdyke to support industry and growth, to name just a few,’’ he said.

He said the role of mayor was not about being the boss, it was about leadership, governance and accountability and he needed councillors that worked together as a team.