Developer wants further changes to consent for Timaru retail centre

Tuesday, 30 September 2025

The developer behind The Showgrounds retail complex on Evans St has lodged an application for more changes to the resource consent for the development.

The new developer behind a retail centre on the outskirts of Timaru wants the council to allow smaller shops in the second stage of the development and he wants to increase the number of tenancies to 22.

There has been plenty of talk in recent weeks about possible changes to the consent for the development, with the matter raised during a council meeting and prompting several questions at last week’s meet the candidates event.

The Timaru Herald can now share the details of the application lodged almost three months ago, after the Timaru District Council released the documents.

The application for a variation to the approved resource consent for The Showgrounds at 233 Evans St lodged on July 2 asks for a revised floor plan, more and smaller tenancies, changes to the building elevation and site layout.

The application seeks to increase the number of tenancies in Stage 2 to 22, including nine large format stores with floor areas ranging from 554m2 to 5201m2 and 13 small retail units ranging from 60m2 to 170m2 - 10 of which are 100m2 or smaller.

This diagram shows the consented development (lower graphic) and the proposed changes including a new block of buildings (to the left in blue) running along the boundary of the development.

The smaller sites would accommodate a mix of five food and beverage and eight personal service retailers.

Changes to the planned layout of the second stage were also proposed, and would see a block of buildings accommodating four tenants built along the southwestern boundary.

Kerry Knight, of Equinox Group, took over The Showgrounds retail development late last year when former developer Tony Gapes ran out of money.

In May, Knight told The Timaru Herald work to prepare for the second stage was continuing and they were “confident enough to keep going”.

At the time, he said they had raised $45 million for the second stage and were working with a bank but the volatility of international finance could still play a part.

The developer of The Showgrounds wants the number of tenancies increased to 22 for the second stage of the development.

“Stage 2 is going as well as we can do it, but anything can happen.

“Mr Trump, major tenants could pull back, the bank could pull back. The reality is, it’s like a piece of garbage in the sea being tossed around, you might make landfall, or not.

“But there’s enough tenants to get it going,” he said, at the time, reporting they had signed up four tenants for the smaller shops planned, six bigger tenancies and one big major anchor.

In April, the company behind a proposed bottle store at the development said it had put its application on hold after it drew about 140 objections.

The latest application, which followed previous consented changes, also addresses the large stockpile on the site and says it would have to be removed prior to the proposed works.

Councillor Stu Piddington asked about the safeguards in place to protect the CBD from small format retail being developed at The Showgrounds during a meeting on September 9. (File photo)

It also addresses a number of other matters, including the need for changes to planned landscaping, and the potential impact the changes may have on the CBD.

“Adverse effects on the functioning and vitality of the Timaru city centre are … considered to be less than minor overall…”

The council is yet to make a decision on the application, but the developer wants it to do so on a non-notified basis.

Timaru District Holdings Ltd general manager Frazer Munro said he would be in a better position to comment on protections for the CBD in the sale and purchase agreement once the consenting process had been finalised. (File photo)

The latest proposed changes were first alluded to publicly at a council meeting on September 9, when councillor Stu Piddington asked what safeguards were in place to protect Timaru’s CBD from small format retail being developed at the site.

During the meeting, Piddington (who is seeking re-election and is standing for mayor in Timaru) said a number of retailers had approached him with concerns about several smaller lots “of about 80 to 118m²’’ planned for the development.

Attendees of the Meet the Candidates event organised by Rotary Timaru North at West End Hall on Wednesday evening asked questions about proposed developments at The Showgrounds.

Piddington said he understood “there was something to protect the CBD” in place and asked the Timaru District Holdings (TDHL) general manager Frazer Munro what the case was with that.

TDHL, as the vendor of the land, entered into a sale and purchase agreement with the developer.

Munro told Piddington the matter was “primarily a consenting issue”, and said there were protections in place but it was complicated and he would be in a better position to answer his question once the consenting process had been finalised.

It was following that meeting The Timaru Herald asked for a copy of any application to vary the conditions of the consent for the development. That request was made on September 9. The council took more than two weeks to share that document, sharing it on September 26.

Since then, the matter has been canvassed extensively in the public arena and during last week’s meet the candidates event it was raised multiple times.

Taking questions from attendees, Timaru ward candidate John Bolt was asked what protection could be given to the CBD over the possible inclusion of 11 100m2 shops at the development, with Bolt replying that he thought the damage had already been done.

Bolt said those that had allowed the development at all had contributed to a split of the town’s retail offering, and he would have voted against that.

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

Another Timaru ward candidate, 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 which was met with applause from the floor.