Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Stoush over plans to change Phoenix car park into green space

Bay of Plenty Times
18 Apr, 2017 09:24 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

OPPOSED: Mount Maunganui businessmen Bob Tulloch, Mark Rundell and Charles Robertson are against plans to develop most of the Phoenix car park into a urban green space. Photo/ George Novak

OPPOSED: Mount Maunganui businessmen Bob Tulloch, Mark Rundell and Charles Robertson are against plans to develop most of the Phoenix car park into a urban green space. Photo/ George Novak

Trade-off plans to make Phoenix car park at Mount Maunganui into an urban green space has upset many business owners.

The decision had caused anger and fears that the removal of car parks would affect ''livelihoods'' while Mount Mainstreet said its consensus revealed the majority of its members were against the project.

Last week the council's City Transformation Committee voted 6-1 to support a slimmed-down version that was originally going to replace all 55 parking spaces.

The committee agreed to retain up to 20 car parks on the site until June 2020, following a survey of mainstreet retailers, the 55 replacement places would be found by changes to the May St carpark, and the parking spaces along Prince Ave and Nikau Cres.

Mount Maunganui/Papamoa Ward councillor Leanne Brown, who spearheaded the compromise, said ratepayers would not pay for the green space as ''it's being funded by developer contributions and that money has to be spent by 2021 . . . or we have to give it back''.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

''It's a little matter of being brave and bold. We are ending up with a positive result and more parks.''

The debate had been ongoing for years with various consultations and the outcome was not a surprise, she said.

The survey revealed a split in the ranks, with equal support for each of the three options.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But Mount Maunganui businessman Charles Robertson said he was ''gutted'' and knew of long-term residents in outlying streets who were also worried about congestion.

He had been a retailer at the Mount for more than 40 years and said he did not mind progress if it was done properly but did not get the opportunity to fill in the survey.

''We don't want to go backwards and we can't afford to have less car parks."

His concerns were echoed by fellow businessmen Mark Rundell and Bob Tulloch.

Discover more

$2m development of car park starts soon

08 Jun 11:00 PM

Menswear shop still in fashion after 40yrs

26 Jul 04:46 AM

''My biggest issue is the council is hell bent on stopping traffic off Mount Maunganui Rd. This has become a tourist town and tourists need to know how to find car parks,'' Mr Tulloch said.

''I think what we feel has happened is that council is trying to ram it down our throat.''

Mount Mainstreet chairwoman Jane Debenham said as ''far as the board is concerned we decided not to support any development and wanted to keep the car park as it was''.

''There are still a lot of really upset retailers.'

''Parking is crucial to us when you have other places like Bayfair, Tauranga Crossing and Papamoa Plaza. People are going to quickly walk away because it will be in the too-hard basket to come down here.

''That is what has happened at The Strand, it's human nature people like to park and walk into their stores or cafes.''

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Next steps to deliver Phoenix Car Park into open urban space

* Detailed design and consenting

* Tendering and construction

* Opened in time for the summer of 2018-19

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

07 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

Truck driver back at work and walking again after surviving fatal crash

07 Jul 06:00 PM

He had nine surgeries: 'There was nothing left - no bones or anything left in my foot.'

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM
'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM
Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

07 Jul 06:56 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP